Antumbra
by chinarai
Summary: Shadow and light, two coexistent sides of the same coin, united in holy matrimony. Giftfic for Calvin (octoballderby on tumblr)
1. Prologue

Hello again guys!

Here is the thing I was talking about, my newest project and a birthday gift for my bby, **Calvin**! (zeldawiiu on tumblr, go wish him a happy birthday will you)

TP Zelink as usual, though the title works well for Midzel/Midlink, too. This is the prologue, the first chapter comes later tonight and there are at least 28 more chapters to read. Whew.

Have fun guys! Review if you could, please!

**Happy Birthday, Calvin! Love you bby!**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

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><p>Only those close to His Majesty knew all details pertaining the guest's presence in the sacred land of Hyrule. Councilmen that had once whispered and argued among themselves in search for a solution, now stood solemnly across the tall open windows, faces as composed as the mood would let them.<p>

Wind ruffled the long burgundy curtains, the dying light of the sun giving an orange hue to all things it could touch. The King bowed at the neck before the presence of the other, who mimicked the gesture, and with a gesture of the Hylian's hand the other was invited to take a seat. Pleasantries were voiced despite the tense atmosphere that had been hanging over their heads for the past decades, careful and small smiles that held no happiness whatsoever curved both rulers' lips, and the small stack of paper was placed in the middle of the table, signaling the end.

The end of years and years of grudge and dislike. Always in the brink of war, but never making it to the part that required bloodshed, both kings had finally come to a conclusion together and agreed to do something that would change the fate of both civilizations.

Two quills, one white, one black, were placed by their hands, symbolizing the light and the dark. Tips were dipped in blue ink then dragged across the surface of the paper, curving lines into letters and molding words, each ruler signing their name where required. As a last act, each reached for a dagger hidden in the confines of their coats and upon exchanging them, they slashed the tips of their thumbs, the cut quickly reddening with blood that was pressed on paper and left a mark by the end of their names.

Light had finally become scarce, prompting one servant to walk about the room lightning up a series of candles as the two at the center wiped their blades clean and hid it from sight. Standing from their seats, their uninjured hands met in the middle for a shake, and the King of Hyrule guided the other to the grand doors at the entrance of his castle, the councilmen tailing behind as their guest, and now ally, commented on the decoration and complimented the kingdom.

Upon reaching the entrance, they were met with the sole heir of the Hylian throne as she returned from the gardens accompanied by her caretaker. The other king lowered himself to one knee and touched his palm to the crown of her head, pale lips pulling in a smile that was returned by her. "You will love it there, Your Highness." The princess only smiled and nodded, uninformed and oblivious to the contract they had just signed, and walked up to her father as the other ruler increased the distance between both races.

The Hylian king bowed his head in return as the other did the same, hands coming to rest on his daughter's shoulders as the man before them decomposed into black pieces from head to toe, all of which flew up towards a circle in the sky.

As the portal shrunk and eventually disappeared, His Majesty allowed himself to breathe properly again.

The only thing left to do now was wait for twenty years.


	2. i: Saros

Hey hey!

The second chapter is here~ Things will truly start happening next chap, but I couldn't just skip to it. Don't want to leave the genre as romance/general but I really don't know if you can put this under drama. Maybe yes, we'll see how it goes.

All chapters are named after a solar eclipse term. You can find the complete list on NASA's website, and just some of the titles actually have something to do with what happens, so don't stress trying to fit it under the definition haha (and just so you know, I don't understand 70% of them weh)

I'll try to update it weekly! Currently, I'm on chapter eleven, almost starting chap twelve!

Enjoyyy!

**You're the best! Enjoy BH6!**

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><p><strong>Saros<strong>

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><p><em>The periodicity and recurrence of solar (and lunar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3d (18yr 11d 8h). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The eclipses occur at the same node with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is a useful tool for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 or 13 centuries and contains 70 or more eclipses.<em>

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><p>Zelda found out about her fate one afternoon when she was twelve, when she snuck into her father's private study searching for that elegant paper she loved to write a letter for Prince Ralis, Queen Rutela's first son and the crown prince of Zora's Domain. On the following day, it would be his fourth birthday and she wanted to give the young boy something made by her along with the gift they got for him.<p>

The papers were usually in the second drawer, but this time she did not find them there, and after searching further, she found them in the last drawer to the left, buried at the bottom under everything else. She removed the pile with care, and with it came one envelope of a nice creamy color and good texture, just perfect for her letter. Opening it to see if it was empty, she found out it was not; inside a document could be found and she would have ignored it if her name were not written in the first paragraph in one of the council members' handwriting.

Curiosity got the best of her and she did one of the things she would have never done in other circumstances, but if it pertained her, she needed to know just what that was. Zelda unfolded the document gingerly and skimmed through it, afraid she would be caught by her father if he decided to show up in that moment. The information written there sent a wave of shock through her body and her father's signature at the bottom, accompanied by a foreign one, only made her feel weak. Hastily, she returned the paper to the envelope and shoved it in the drawer before taking the ones she came after, and left the room in a blur of pink chiffon, legs shaking and heart in frenzy, leaping at the base of her throat. Safe in her room, she left the pile on her bed and sat beside it, feeling her muscles tensing and locking in place as her once comforting pastel walls loomed over her shrunk figure.

How bad was that? To marry off your daughter to a complete stranger's son? Worse, to sign a paper as if she was some sort of good that could be traded or sold, instead of a person with feelings and a mind of her own? She knew there was a big chance she would never marry the man she wanted, but to do this was extremely heart breaking. Troubled blue eyes stared at the carpet of her room, fingers curling inwards and taking the fabric of her delicate dress with them. Tears burned behind her eyes, the young princess gritted her teeth as her throat worked and her shoulders shook, she told herself not cry, and that was exactly what she did. Swallowing down her tears, Zelda rubbed her eyes and did what she had planned to do all along; sitting by her desk, she wrote to Ralis in shaking letters, drew him a little doodle of them together in sloppy, uneven lines, then wrote an extra letter, telling him of all the things she found out. He was too young to understand it now, but he would at some point and then they could talk about that properly then.

She tried to avoid her father for the remainder of the day and would have succeeded if he had not appeared in her bedroom that night with a stern look on his face. He told her how his papers were missing, but what concerned him most was that _that_ document was wrinkled all over the place. Upon questioning her, Zelda remained silent, eyes fixed on the deep purple comforter; there was no point denying it, he already knew it was her, who else would it be? Frowning, he started speaking, saying how disappointed he was that she had rummaged through his things like that, and very bravely, she replied.

"I am very disappointed that you sold me off like that."

Her father looked at her in disbelief, then opened his mouth to speak but she had already lied own and turned her back to him, leaving the peeved man with only her silence as a sample of her feelings. She did not know for how long more he stayed there, but at some point, he left quietly, feet almost dragging on the floor. Immediately, once the door had closed behind him, she sat up and got out of bed, making her way in the dark to a pillow in the corner of the room where she kneeled down. Running her right thumb in a triangle shape over her chest, she prayed to the Goddesses for their guidance, then talked to her mother that rested somewhere in the Sacred Realm, not aware that the king spied her through the keyhole.

A few months later, the smiling princess was only a shadow of what she had once been. Many said it was part of her training to become a good ruler, others insisted something had happened that made her so terribly distant looking. Her father constantly tried to talk to her, but her replies were short and straight to the point; small talk was an unknown concept in her vocabulary and the only person she showed part of her true self was her only friend, the Zora prince, and sometimes to his mother, who constantly worried over her new personality. From that moment on, Zelda spent the majority of her day studying and simply busying herself, losing track of time, but successfully distracting her mind at times.

When Ralis turned ten and was old enough to understand how the mind of a ruler worked, he showed his mother the letter Zelda gave him for his fourth birthday back then. The Queen, surprised at what she found out, got into a heated discussion with the king the next time they met, before all other race leaders of Hyrule, the Goron and the representatives of Ordon. He had decided to wed his daughter to the youngest son of the Twili king without having all council members present. He was dispatching his daughter and giving her off to the enemy's son. That lasted for hours, leaving all leaders and councilmen spent and it was known as the worst meeting during his time as king. The Princess, sitting poised by her chair beside her father's, said nothing throughout the ordeal, though she was glad they stood up for her and did not side with him.

By the time Zelda was twenty-one, she knew the day was coming. Word had reached her ears that her future husband (the word made her cringe inwardly) was three years her junior, thus meaning she would marry at the age of twenty-four. Preparations had started to be made; she was presented with various croquis and models of wedding dresses, she tried some, rejected others, chose the materials that could be used, but these things only made her feel worse. Years had passed and she was not used to the idea yet. Zelda ordered that the preparations be delayed for another two years and refused to speak about the topic in the meantime as she tried to prepare herself mentally for it.

On the last year left, she tried to put more effort into it. As a parting gift, the Zora had given her their finest white silk, one that shimmered like nacre under the light, and the Goron presented her with various stones to use in her dress and new crown that was to be made, forged with the gold given by the Ordonians. It was with great sadness that she accepted their gifts, one that she could not conceal this time, and she pretended not to see the way they glanced at her when she left to resume looking through more models to choose.

Now, Zelda was standing just outside the double doors that would lead her to the altar. She had been disappointed to find that the wedding would be held in the Twilight Realm, but upon discoveringthey were extremely sensitive to the light, she accepted it quietly. Sad that she never even got the chance to meet the man (the only information ever given to her was his name that, honestly, did not sound like a name at all), the princess could only wait to see if she would pull through all of this.

Twili maids fixed her dress and long veil, and passed her the bouquet of blue orchids tinted especially for this occasion. Zelda held it with both hands, refusing to hold her father's until the moment came. From inside the room she heard a piano and a few chords being played, and shakily she looped her arm through the king's.

Once the violins started playing, the doors opened, and her heart jumped in her ribcage.

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><p>King Ardian of Twilight Realm told his wife and eldest daughter that the deal was done. While he had suggested that they married their children, he himself was skeptical about that, but the Hyrulean king had accepted the proposal without thinking twice and the promise of peace sounded too good to be ignored. Queen Elliét assented with her head, a trouble look adorning her pretty face, and ran her hand through her daughter's fiery orange hair, Princess Midna, whilst saying she should help her brother warm up to the idea. Midna was not too pleased with this decision, but if it was for the good of the people, what could she do?<p>

Link was just one year old when the document was signed and he grew up oblivious to it, until he got to the age of nine and his parents started talking about marriage to his sister, but more often than necessary asked for his opinions and tastes. A young boy like him, who enjoyed sneaking out and doing boyish things, was not supposed to feel attraction to anyone, and he doubted Midna, who was six years older, liked someone to the point of wanting to marry them. He knew they would talk to her often about it. She was the crown princess after all and would take the throne because laws stated the firstborn child, regardless of their gender, was the rightful leader of their kingdom. She would be the first to marry, too.

The prince was eleven when his sister revealed to him what his parents had in store for him, and he did not take it kindly. Angered, he stormed into his parents' bedroom and yelled, asked for an explanation and broke some furniture in his tirade. Midna stood by the door as their parents tried to calm her brother down and get him to listen, but he was too worked up to hear what they had to say. Afraid the whole castle would wake up and know of the things planned for his son's future, Ardian ordered him to shut up and gave the boy the same speech he gave his daughter, only he sounded much colder and serious now. Link did not stay to listen and stormed off the room as his father spoke, tears burning in his blue eyes, and his sister went after him after giving the king a dirty look, calling for her younger sibling with the promise of sneaking into the kitchen to get some leftover dessert.

It took him so long to accept it. He had resorted to reading books to find out more about the Hylians, for he heard his wife was supposed to be one, but there were very few _good_ things written about them. Most information pertained to wars and how they used the Twilight Realm as a place where they could ban the worst of criminals forever and now knowing that he could be one of their descendants Link felt sick in the stomach. Midna found him in the library one day as he, in a rage fit, threw the book at the wall and screamed at it, half expecting it to scream back in defense. Upon being asked what was wrong, he told her what he found out about their past and the Hylians, and the princess's red eyes fell on the book as she took it all in. She corrected him and said they were descendants of people called the Interlopers, whomever they were, that the Golden Goddesses banned to the Twilight Realm. Scrunching up his nose at the newly acquired information, the young prince decided on the spot that if the Goddesses were truly benevolent, they would have not done that to his ancestors; therefore, he saw no reason to pray for them anymore and refused to believe they truly existed. Not really what the princess had been expecting.

Days later, Midna told him that they could hate on Hylians all they wanted. Their past actions were unforgiving, true, but she asked him to treat the Princess of Hyrule as his equal until they found out more of her personality. Link, as usual, protested.

"We can't treat her badly without a motive. I know she's a Hylian, but maybe she's not that bad."

Link was fifteen and he still did not know how to feel about his future wife. He could not condemn her for the things her ancestors did, or could he? She was a Hylian; she was part of the people that shunned their criminals to his realm as if it was a garbage can. However, he did admit that the explanation Midna gave him (and they constantly discussed that) did make some sense; they could not threat her badly until they found out more about her. What if they were mean to her and she turned out to be nice? Then they would be the villains and he could not accept that! But if she did not like them, then they could reciprocate it, and everything would be a war without bloodshed. Five discussions later and he accepted that condition; he would give her two months to decide just how she would be treated based on her personality.

Two years later he found out his sister was being courted by some noble whose title did not concern him. The guy was tall, taller than Midna and much taller than him, the shortest of the family; he seemed to be a nice guy, though, albeit a bit paranoid and jumpy. Oftentimes he would seem cool and collected, then something would happen and his voice would pitch high and he would become agitated. Link wondered just what his sister saw in him, but she looked at the man (Zant, he believed) in such a way that made him feel uncomfortable. It was not because her eyes were filled with love and she looked incredibly stupid, it was because never once in his life Link stopped to think that this would never happen to him. The chances of his wife loving him like this were minimal, and he doubted he would ever fall for her. He could be happy with any Twili, but here he was being used like a pawn in a game of chess his father was playing.

Despite that, he could not bring himself to hate the man.

By the time he was nineteen, his sister and the duke were walking down the aisle, both dressed in black. Link watched the scene mutely, wondering how his wedding would be like and imagining how she would look like. His father did not say much, only that the last time he had seen her she had shoulder length hair and large blue eyes; that was the only description of her he was given and it was not enough.

On the following year, Link had already grown tired of the idea of marrying her. With his wedding already knocking on his door, he found himself angry and snappy, and he would always express how displeased and unhappy he was at the thought of marrying a stranger. He tried to get his father to cancel it, but it was too late for going back now. The prince could only rely on his sister to listen to him, and she would do so patiently, until her patience started wearing thin and she would tell him to _suck it up already_. It was Zant who reassured him it would not be that bad; Link did not need to spend the whole day with the girl, only meet her to have their meals and then share the room at night, but luckily the bed was big enough so they would not be too close. That was enough to put out some of his anger.

Link stood at the altar, hands clasped behind his back and a solemn look on his face. The day had come and fleeing was not an option anymore. To the right of the room, in the front row of seats, were his sister and brother-in-law, and behind them were most part of their relatives, cousins and aunts and uncles that came over to witness the moment. Behind him stood his parents, eyes focused on the closed doors waiting for his fiancée to enter. On the opposite side occupying only the first row were the most exquisite of creatures he had ever seen, all from Hyrule. There was a woman with white and coral colored skin, who had presented herself as Rutela, Queen of the Zora, whoever they were. Sitting was a young boy with a striking resemblance to her, and Link could only guess he was her son, and beside him sat a group of rock-like beings with tribal paintings across their torsos; Goron, they had said. The most normal looking were four beings with rosy colored skin, the ones that very loosely resembled Twili; these were the humans.

In an alcove to the right were a pianist and a quartet of chords, just starting to play another song. As two Twili moved closer to the doors separating the Twilight prince and the Light princess, Link wondered if the girl was normal looking.


	3. ii: Annular Eclipse

Heeello!

I drew some concept art to accompany this - they're not masterpieces for I decided to line and color them in the last moment, but you can get an idea of what they look like in this chapter and their overall appearances. I'll put links on my profile, but if it takes too long to update, just go to my art tumblr ( .com) and it should be the first post you'll see.

I noticed that as the story goes, I like the chapters more. The first chapters are always awkward and weird for me to write and read afterwards, maybe because the story is just starting to develop. From this one you'll get the basic idea of how they'll act.

Forgot to mention this before, but Ardian and Elliét aside, there's another major OC, but he's a nice guy, you'll like him. He should appear in two chapters or so.

Anywaaayyy, have a nice reading!

**Love you, bby!**

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><p><strong>Annular Eclipse<strong>

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><p><em>A solar eclipse in which the Moon's antumbral shadow traverses Earth (the Moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun). During the maximum phase of an annular eclipse, the Sun appears as a blindingly bright ring surrounding the Moon.<em>

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><p>If her father had not squeezed her hand, Zelda would not have moved.<p>

Sucking in a sharp and shallow breath, she let herself be guided down the aisle, eyes sweeping around the room and taking it all in. Like most rooms of the Palace of Twilight, this one had a unique complexity; grey walls with light blue patterns that emitted a mysterious glow. The outside and inside of the building were angular and with little decoration; furniture and carpets were simple and clean, much different from the detailed ones she was so used in seeing, but it all went along very well with the perpetual twilight that fell over the land. The majority of the people present, all staring at her, were natives of that realm, most of which she guessed were part of the higher class; she tried not to meet anyone's gaze and avoided even the only familiar faces that stood at the front. By accident, she caught sight of the rulers of Twilight and thought in the back of her mind that it was about time she finally looked at the one who would soon be her husband.

He was different from most Twili she crossed paths with; she guessed that, the higher their status, the more complex their features were. His visible skin was light blue and grey, the sclera of his eyes was yellow and his irises were blue, his hair was dirty blond and unkempt, fringe parted to the left side of his face and hiding half of his golden crown. His ears were like ones of a Hylian, though longer and thinner and ragged around the edges. Clad in only a black tunic, a heavy black robe was draped over his form and tied at his hips with a golden chain; the sleeves were as long as the robe itself, and the inner side, just like the characteristic Twili patterns present on his legs as well, was blue. A long tabard was pinned to the front of his tunic and held back by the chain, its dark shade of grey contrasting with the royal markings there that matched the ones drawn on the wall behind the altar. What they lacked in decoration they compensated in these angular lines and circles, she mused. His feet, like all other Twili's present, were bare of any cloth or shoes.

In the back of her mind, she remembered his name: Link. He stared at her with intensity, held her eyes just as steadily as his chest expanded and contracted. They both looked at each other with serious, if not indifferent, expressions, just watching and examining from afar, trying to guess as much of the other as possible through stares. From her peripheral vision, she could see his parents murmuring to each other, then for a moment she allowed herself to glance Rutela's way and returned the small smile without exactly thinking. The Zora Queen had been the one to show more concern at the idea of an arranged political marriage than all other leaders of Hyrule, even coming close to opposing it most of the times, and for that Zelda knew she saw her more like a person than only as a future ruler.

The eye contact lasted for only one intake of breath and the Hyrulean princess was once again facing forward, but not looking at the man waiting for her. Instead, she focused her gaze on the wall ahead of her and thought of the flowers in her hand, of her new room she had the chance to see, of the chests piled by the closet door and the numerous pillows that were placed by the headboard. She thought of anything but the rings and the Twili prince and the permanent twilight that would greet her every morning and every night, and with her mind elsewhere the walk down the aisle ended faster, but did not feel as bad like in the beginning.

Rutela stepped in closer and offered a hand in which Zelda placed the blue tinted orchids. They regarded each other in silence, fighting back sad looks as the king congratulated the man beside her, and the queen touched her fingers to her cheek, thumb pulling at the corner of her lips. With a smile that lasted only half a second, the princess lowered her head and allowed the Zora to place a kiss on her forehead, right on the cold blue jewel of her new circlet. Zelda's father smiled brightly at her once she turned in his direction and placed her hand on Link's, backing away to the side to stand by Rutela and offering her an arm. Two pairs of blue eyes studied the joined hands before they were invited to kneel down before the priest, and Zelda was fine with how she did not miss her father's touch at all.

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><p>It was like seeing light, bright and unforgiving light.<p>

Link thought of jokingly shielding his eyes, but his family and all guests could misunderstand it. It was not that she was not pleasant to look at, but the dress she wore was all white and she was the only one dressed in that color too. She stood out in a dark room filled with people clad in dark colors, and he doubted she had done it on purpose. Something told him it was a tradition of her world, to dress their brides in white, the color of the light and good – but here, white meant bad luck. To wear white on your wedding day was the same as saying she would rather be dead.

Keeping his face carefully composed, he studied her form further.

The long sleeved dress fit her nicely, outlined all curves of her body until it reached her mid thighs and opened about her in a circle; its bodice was studded with countless crystals that sparkled under the light, adding more to the feel of looking at the sun. Brown hair fell in waves behind her back, except for two locks that framed her face one on each side, and the golden circlet on her head had one lonely sapphire on the center accompanied by smaller ones equally distanced, bluer than the color of her eyes. Her skin was fair, a lighter shade than the humans', and the only visible difference between the two races were her pointed ears. When she was beside him and turned to the Zora, he noticed her veil was completely embroidered and stretched on behind her almost endlessly, but there was no time left to look at it with her father talking to him in poorly developed Twili.

He forced a smile as the Hylian took his hand firmly in his and patted his shoulder with the other, telling him to take care of the princess, Zelda, and other things Link did not bother to pay attention. His hand was soon replaced by his daughter's, who looked down at the space between them with a faraway look in her eyes that got his mind reeling for a second, but the priest's voice broke him from his trance and slowly he lowered himself to his knees, hand never releasing hers. Her skin was soft and warm, and tentatively he ran his thumb across the back of her hand once, feeling its texture. It seemed as if air had replaced her, for she seemed to be holding back the weight of her hand instead of letting him support it, not to mention she was as motionless and silent as one could be.

Halfway through the speech, she shifted and his eyes darted in her direction curiously. She brought her left hand up to her chest and let the thumb stick out as she drew a triangle over her bosom, starting from the bottom, then going left, up in a diagonal, down to the starting point, then finally dragging it to the middle to let it linger there. With closed eyelids, her mouth worked, but no sounds escaped, and Zelda silently spoke to herself whilst he tried to read her lips, but nothing made sense and there were words he did not recognize, meaning it could only be Hylian. For the first time, he was faced with the possibility that he would have to live with someone who did not know his mother language and the idea of having to teach her was enough to shed him of nearly all patience he had left. The ceremony could not go any slower.

As soon as she was done and her eyes opened, the priest told them to stand and face each other. After taking the rings from within a black cloth, he passed one golden band to Link, who slipped it on her finger, and the other to Zelda, who did the same, no words or vows or even glances exchanged. Their left hands and the black cloth were dipped in a bowl of ice-cold water, and while the priest wrapped the wet fabric tightly around their hands, both of hers between both of his, the prince realized she was taller than he was and possibly taller than her father too. Not as tall as Midna or Zant, but still taller, and he was once again the shortest of the family. He had hopes the princess would be shorter; his sister would mock him for the rest of his life.

The priest said a few more words before slashing a golden dagger through the dark cloth, thus freeing their hands. Link took her cold left hand in his and both youths turned to face the room. He really wanted to look at his family before walking down the aisle to the reception hall, he really did, but the young Zora prince was standing by the door with a box held at eye level and clicking one button repeatedly. That act confused him immensely, but Zelda, he noted, smiled sadly at the kid.

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><p>They sat together on a table on an upper level, all other guests down a couple of steps and talking before dinner was served. Zelda constantly examined her left hand, fingers stiff, and for a moment Link let himself believe it was the ring that bothered her, but then she covered the appendage with her veil, and he could not help but scoff at her. She calmly glanced at him and he looked into her blue eyes void of any emotion for a long moment before speaking. "Is it cold?"<p>

"Yes," her voice was firm, yet soft, as she spoke, "it is."

"I doubt your veil will help much." His wife looked down at her hand then placed the other upon it, to shield it from his sight or to simply warm it up, he did not know. Soon she was watching the people down below, more specifically the Zora kid, who never strayed too far from his mother and stole glances at the newlywed princess.

Link rolled his eyes and motioned with two fingers, calling for a servant, and whispered a quick order to him before going back to secretly staring at the woman beside him. She did not move an inch, she only breathed and blinked and occasionally glanced another way and never said anything. Was that the way she was or was she ignoring him? His patience was hanging on a thread; if the rest of their marriage would be like this, he would find a way to annul it. Alliances be damned, he would not spend the rest of his life beside a breathing statue.

His fingers curled inwards towards his palm and the servant soon approached the table hesitantly, feeling his superior's anger wafting off him in waves. He silently left a bowl on the tabletop and backed away with a polite bow, nearly bending himself in half as he went his way. Link, after pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to regain control over his breathing, pushed the utensil in her direction, which immediately caught her attention. "It is warm water," the confused look left her face and she nodded once, pulling it closer.

"Thank you," her eyes met his as she replied and she dipped her hand into the water, shoulders instantly relaxing and right hand opening in her lap. So far, most things said were basic words, yet they were spoken more correctly than the ones pronounced by her father before the ceremony. Link cast the man in question a glance, only to find him talking to his parents; they knew Hylian and were fluent in so, he was not surprised in the least to see them talking. They were probably the only ones who could understand him and the princess, and they would probably serve her as translator. Why could they not have prepared themselves for this?

Zelda removed her hand from within the bowl and used a napkin to meticulously wipe her skin, and Link spoke as she struggled to take off her wedding ring. "It is no use." Once again she looked at him; well, at least she looked his way when he was talking, it could be worse. "It is a special kind of metal. It constricts around your finger when it is dipped into cold water. You cannot take it off." He half expected her to look confused, but to his surprise, she nodded in understanding and replied with a simple _I see_, then glanced down and proceeded to wipe around the ring carefully. Link sighed and leaned back on his chair, glad that she could at least understand what he was saying. Maybe he would not need to teach her anything.

All guests were invited to seat as Elliét and Ardian went up the short staircase towards the newlywed couple, followed by the Hylian king, and they were formally introduced then, among hugs and smiles, but Link noticed as his wife tensed whenever the king, Daphnes, touched her or merely glanced her way. Her small smiles were reserved only for his parents and the Zora, and her father could only have indifferent glances, which made Link realize that the impassive eyes that looked at him at times held more emotion than when they focused on the man. But Daphnes was either oblivious to it, or he just pretended not to realize, for he never once flinched or looked sad and his broad grin never left his face.

The Twili rulers stepped closer to the railing, flutes of drink in hands that were brought by the same servant as before, and they said a short speech before passing the word to the Hyrulean king, who declined it politely with a shake of his head, and then to Link and Zelda, who glanced at each other as if lost. He hesitated for a moment, but she had already made her mind and took two glasses from the table, then passed one to him once they were standing where his parents previously were. Link looked down at the bubbly liquid as if hoping it would tell him what he could say, but it was Zelda who spoke, loud and clear and with all finesse and class of a ruler.

"I am honored to be the one chosen to marry Prince Link. To live in Twilight will be an experience that only few can have and I am overjoyed to know I will have the opportunity to enjoy it to its fullest. I hope from this union blooms a lasting alliance, and all prejudgments will be erased. May Light and Twilight live forever in peace." Then she proceeded to say the speech again, this time in Hylian for those who did not understand. Link was truly impressed at her Twili, she was better than he had expected; his amusement must have shown on his face for Midna was smirking at him from her seat downstairs and he scowled at her in response.

Once she was finished, Zelda touched her free hand to her bosom and bowed her head in reverence and gratitude, then lifted the flute into the air whilst her back straightened and repeated her wishes for peace aloud, which were followed by a choir of people who said it themselves, and flutes clinked all over the room before the guests sipped their drinks. She turned and touched her glass to his with a slight smile and he returned it in kind as he led her back to the table, and finally dinner was served.

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><p>Turns out the smile she gave him was the same one she had kept on her face while talking to all those invited to the wedding.<p>

Together they walked to his chambers, their chambers, after a quick formal introduction of his sister and brother-in-law to her, and a long time of saying farewells before the Hyruleans finally departed back to where they belonged. Link stuck by her side as Goron after Zora after human went up to her and shared a few words, a few hugs and touches of hands to her shoulders, pats on his back and smiles. He watched their interaction feeling rather bored and out of place, seeing as none of the words spoken made sense to him, but Zelda was kind enough to translate whatever was said to him to Twili, he would reply politely, and she would translate it again.

Her father was meant to be the last one to talk, but the Zora Queen and her son approached the now married woman one more time. Rutela embraced the Hylian and whispered things he could not quite understand as she combed her brown hair from under the veil, and Zelda only replied with short nods of her head and a word or two; Link thought he heard her sniffing, but he could not be sure. Once they parted, his wife turned her attention to the young prince, who ran into her arms and wept on her shoulder, and she only held him close, not saying anything. Link was then approached by Rutela, who, upon touching her hand to his bicep and looking down at him, pleaded in a quiet tone.

"Please, look after Zelda."

Her words still bothered him, even after half an hour had gone by. Not even the king's words were filled with so much emotion, to see the Zora caring so deeply for the princess made him wonder just how deep their story went. Link wanted to ask, he wanted to inquire and know all bits of her past just because, he wanted to know why her father's presence, words and touch put her on the edge, but Zelda fell back to silence after they left and made no efforts to speak to him, just like he made no moves to strike up a conversation with her. Truthfully, the moment she had spoken the most was when she was making that speech, and that was it; her sentences consisted of five words at a maximum, and though she held all emotions back, she still seemed to have that distant look in her eyes. What was there to do to help?

The doors to his room opened and he let her go in first, watching as she went for the chests piled by the left side of the chambers. Silently, he lowered each one to the floor and lined them against the wall, then walked across the open space to the other side, where he deposited the golden chain and black robe inside a drawer of his walk-in closet. When he returned dressed in his pajamas, Zelda was standing before the full body mirror, fingers ghosting over the crystals and fabric of her dress, unblinking eyes trained on her reflection and lips just slightly parted, and she stood there for a long while, just watching and slowly moving her hand over her limbs and torso. Link walked to his bed, now made for two, and picked a side to sleep, pulling back the comforters and sheets and settling comfortably there; as he imagined an invisible line tracing the middle of the bed, she moved and entered the adjacent bathroom to her side of the room.

He really did not want to interact much with her for now, but he was not going to be rude or disrespectful either, so he waited for a couple of minutes as she changed and did whatever she needed to do in there, and after a while she emerged, dressed in a long nightgown, with wedding dress on a hanger that she set beside the mirror for the night. While she prepared her side of the bed to sleep, Link noticed the slight stress line between her eyebrows, barely visible under the dim light of the candles. Knowing exactly well what was going in her mind, he blew out the candle on his bedside table and lowered his back to the bed. "I am not going to touch you."

Perhaps it was his words, perhaps it was the way he said it, she stilled and held her breath, but soon regained her composure and resumed pulling back the sheets and choosing a pillow that fitted her likings. Link rolled to his side as she slipped under the covers, and before blowing out her candle, she spoke. "Goodnight, Prince Link."

He replied with a grunt and the room was engulfed by darkness.


	4. iii: Umbra

Heeeyy!

Thank you for the feedback! I answered them on the last minute, but I did! I would like to talk about something, though, nothing bad. Astercia's review made me realize something; this is what they said:

__"Wouldn't it be better for them to live in Hyrule? I know that you said the Twili are sensitive to the light (although I'm certain there are way's around that), but if Zelda is the King's only child then who is going to take over after him?"__

I'm going to clear this up in case someone is thinking along the same lines. What I'm going for is that they will go to Hyrule eventually - Link says it a few times starting on this chapter, but I didn't make it very clear; I should probably edit one chap and add this. Zelda will take her father's place with Link by her side, but until the need for that arises she'll stay in Twilight, which is a place safe for him, so she can try to get to know Link. You've already seen he is the angry kind of guy, if he were to marry and immediately move to Hyrule things would be worse than they already are haha

**Guest Reviews**

_Reader314:_ Sooo sorry for not replying to your first review, I was so excited to update I forgot certain this orz but thank you so much! I'm glad to know you like my writing (I try so hard omg) and the story so far! :D You'll see how the married life will suit them; it's hard to talk without spoiling aaaaaAA

Talking about spoilers, I might add few comments at the end of the chaps to comment on a few things without spoiling them. Just cause I'm a lazy bum and don't want to edit _Annular Eclipse_, know that last chapter was written based on the feeling I get when listening to_Ultraviolence, _by Lana Del Rey!

Enjoy!

**Have I told you I find you too cute to be true?**

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><p><strong>Umbra<strong>

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><p><em>The umbra is the darkest part of the Moon's shadow. From within the umbra, the Sun is completely blocked by the Moon as in the case of a total eclipse. This contrasts with the penumbra, where the Sun is only partially blocked resulting in a partial eclipse.<br>_

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><p>Link woke up to find her side of the bed empty and made, sheets pulled up and pillows lined by the headboard. He stretched in place, feeling his column and joints popping and muscles moving, and then slowly got up to start a new day. The dark curtains were pulled open to let the orange glow of twilight into the room, it burned his sleepy eyes. He headed to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, finding remnants of water in the bathtub and one towel hanging to dry; the rest appeared untouched. Changing from his wrinkled pajamas to a tunic of a dark grey shade, he pinned the light tabard to the front and tied the chain about his hips, and after running a hand through his unruly hair and putting on his fine headpiece, Link exited the room and went for the dining hall without any rush despite the hunger he felt.<p>

The few servants that passed by him stopped and bowed as he went on his way; normally he would greet them in some form, but they knew he was still bothered and possibly angry at the idea of being wedded to a stranger, so they let him go without any vocal greetings, knowing better than to speak to the hot headed prince when he did not want to. Link was somewhat glad they had not directed any words his way, but he was far too busy wondering just where she had gone to even acknowledge more than their presence in the same hallway. With long and quickening strides, he soon came up to the dining hall and slipped inside when the doors opened before him.

His father was sitting at the end of the table, wife on one side, daughter on the other. Zant sat beside Midna and Zelda sat beside his mother, but leaving one vacant seat between the two: his. His wife, he noticed, was having a rather amicable and polite talk with Ardian, who asked for more details of the places of Hyrule he did not have the chance to see. As soon as he entered, the conversation diverged and the attention was solely focused on him. The princess avoided eye contact and lowered her silverware whilst everyone else shot him suspicious glances, and he barely had time to snap at them for his sister acted just on time.

"Good morning, sunshine." Midna teased from behind a tall glass of fresh juice and received only a low groan in answer. "Slept well? Let us hope you did not roll over Zelda. You know how much you move during the night."

Link pulled a chair and plopped down unceremoniously, glaring at his sister. "You speak too much in the morning. Have you ever thought of shutting up?"

"Link," his mother chided gently, "manners."

"Yes, mother."

Midna had that triumphant look on her face until her mother glance her way; her smile faltered. "And stop teasing your brother."

"Yes, mother." She sighed, narrowing her eyes when Link smirked, and went back to her meal with a huff.

Before he could even realize, Zelda was passing him the bowl of fruits, having already poured some orange juice into his glass and also milk and coffee into his cup. Link silently took the desired fruits without ever looking at her face, turning away to fetch the bread as she gave him a slight smile and put the bowl away. Elliét watched the exchange with a grin on her lips, glad to see they were getting along so _well_.

Zelda was quiet as the five Twili chatted, talking about the latest events in their realm, things she could not comment for lack of knowledge. She settled to sipping her tea and cutting up slices of papaya and cantaloupe in her plate, and marveled at how they differed from the fruits back in Hyrule, mostly in color; they appeared to be a lot darker. She had never seen mangoes of such a deep yellow color, it had to be due to the permanent state of twilight, there was no other explanation. Ripe bananas were the color of overripe ones, and cherries were as dark as blackberries. She would have a hard time getting used to it, but at least they were just as sweet.

She was just finishing peeling an apple when they all turned to look at her, all but Link that is, and she slowly lowered the fruit and knife. "Did I miss something?"

"Are you enjoying it here?" It was his sister who asked, one of the few times she directed her words at Zelda.

Assenting with her head, she answered. "Yes, I am. I have not seen much yet, but I have hopes I will be able to see more of the land soon." Her smile was returned by the couple sitting on the other side of the table and slowly they fell back in another family talk, leaving Zelda to her fruits and Link to his bread. He seemed almost angry as he tore it to pieces with his bare hands, eyebrows pinched and a frown on his lips, but Zelda dared not interfere or even ask what was wrong; simply, she touched his shoulder for only a breath and he stilled under her palm, whipping his head around to face her, but her gaze was focused elsewhere, so he turned back to his bread, this time much calmer.

Breakfast was uneventful, but somewhat enjoyable. Link spoke up at times and Zelda did not say anything unless they were directly speaking to her, choosing to take her time to eat her meal. To most she was used to eating in silence; to her husband, she was not willing to get closer or attached to them. That thought almost made him laugh. They had something in common after all; both did not want to be familiar with each other.

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><p>Link was heading to his study room to do his part of the paperwork of the day when he was intercepted in the hallway by Midna, who blocked his way by stepping before him whenever he tried to walk around her. "What do you want?"<p>

"I just want to talk, little brother."

He let out a long suffering, dramatic sigh, which made her crack a smirk. "About what?"

"Her." Link made an almost disgusted face and walked around her, leaving Midna with the only option of following. "Don't you like her?"

"I barely know her, Midna." He said with a slight shrug, hands clasped tightly behind his back. "She doesn't talk, she doesn't do anything. She only sits and breathes and occasionally drinks water and eats something. There's not much to like."

Her sister scoffed at him and picked up her pace, coming to walk beside him in matching hurried strides. "I bet you didn't even try to talk to her."

"You're right, I didn't."

"And you expect her to come talking to you?"

They stopped before the door to his study room, Midna purposefully standing in his way so the door would not open to let him inside. Link glared up at her, but the glare she gave in return could rival his own, if not win. Accepting defeat, he motioned for her to follow him and the door slid closed behind their backs once they had walked past the threshold. The prince left his sister standing there as he sought refuge behind his desk and after getting comfortable on his chair he continued. "Why me? Why not you?"

Midna slumped her shoulders momentarily, then chose to sit on one of the chair across from his. She regarded him as if she was tired of having that discussion again, and truthfully, she was. They had talked about it so many times it was impossible to even count on two pairs of hands and feet; the number was just too high to be kept track of. "Because I am the oldest and I must stay in Twilight."

"That's just an excuse."

"An excuse?" An incredulous noise left her mouth before she went on. "Link, if I were in your place I would at least try to talk to her. She seems to be smart; surely she won't bore you with pointless things."

"But why her? Why not a Twili? They're so much easier to understand, and besides I wouldn't have to leave here."

His sister slammed a palm on the tabletop, which made him jump; she was fed up with his attitude and complaints, but still maintained a low and controlled tone. "Are you that self centered? She's in a strange place surrounded by strange people and you don't see her complaining. She went through extensive training to learn our language and she does not stutter once. Look at the things she did and is doing for Hyrule. It's time you start doing the same for us."

Link shot upwards, leaning forward over his desk, fists tightly pressed down on the smooth surface and teeth showing as he sneered. "Don't give me that kind of talk."

She laughed humorlessly, turning halfway from him. "I do that because it's time that you grow up."

His scowl deepened further, patience wearing thin and voice shaking. "I am grown up."

"Then act like it."

"I will do whatever I damn please!" He shouted in her face, arm sweeping out in an arch and throwing a stack of paper fluttering to the floor. "This is my marriage! You have nothing to do with it!" Midna watched as the paper sheets slowly descended to the dark ground, red irises following them as her brother huffed and slowly sat back down on his chair, gulping in air and glaring to the side. "I could care less about the people. They don't deserve anything from me. I don't owe them anything."

There was a frown on her pretty face and she bit her bottom lip. Using the populace as a motivation to have him keep doing these things had been long ago proved not to be good. It was the worst approach one could use on her brother, but not as bad as using the nobility instead. Link hated all classes, from high to low, but never acted on his feelings and did whatever he had to do because he was never given any other choice – his marriage was one example of that.

He always stood out in his own way and that was bad.

"Get out."

The princess stood and did just that, not because he ordered, though, but because talking to him when he was taken by any kind of emotion was a waste of time. It was best to leave before it got out of hand. With some more words stuck in her throat, she turned her back to him and left, missing when his features softened in the slightest. Link had not greeted Zelda that morning and left the dining hall without a single word to her; his poor wife was going to be ignored until something made him change his mind about her or someone rescued her from this life. Of all things he could do, this was the second worst, to pretend she did not exist, the first was trying and getting rid of her in any way, but Link would never wish her harm; he never wished that for any of the nobles and only Fierce Deity knew how much he despised them.

Still, Midna feared for her life and sanity. She just hoped Zelda had a strong mind and was as emotionally strong; if by any means, his actions endangered her in any way and words got to Hyrule, their marriage would be pointless. There would be no stopping the war that would rise.

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><p>Zelda admitted that the way Hyruleans described the Twili as savage monsters was way far from the truth. They all had been cordial and treated her nice so far, except her own husband, but she understood his reasons. If she could be honest with herself and them, she would say she would rather spend the first couple of days isolated from anyone just to let it sink that it had already happened, that she was taken by a man and locked on the other side of the Mirror of Twilight for the meantime. She had been preparing herself for this from the moment her father had made it clear that there was no going back, that annulling the contract was not wise and would result in another war.<p>

Over the years, she had grown to accept this, but the idea would have sounded more... Appealing, if her father had explained the situation they were in and given her the chance to choose if she would go along with it or not. And she would have agreed, even if it took her a couple of weeks to reply, because he long ago pinned the idea in her head that she would have to sacrifice her life for her people. Arranged matrimonies happened all around Hyrule, but this was the first time a contract had been signed. It had been years since ink left a mark on paper and she still felt like a piece of land or an expensive painting in an auction. She felt like a trading object.

But in the same way that there was no canceling the pact, there was no canceling this either; it had been done and it would remain this way for as long as she could hold their union together. If Link cooperated it would be so much easier, but he seemed to be far from willing to help. If he ever decided to divorce, though, it would be her and the majority of the Twili against him and a minor part that wanted to rise against Hyrule. And he would have to go through his father, who would do all in his power to maintain the alliance intact. The Twili might not like her, but they were not stupid enough to go into war again.

She glanced off to the side; living in Twilight did not sound so bad, but oh, would she miss Rutela and Ralis...

"Princess Zelda?" The woman in question looked up at Zant, who easily towered over her. Distantly, she compared his height to Link's; he seemed to be twice as tall as her husband. Oddly enough, the thought almost made her laugh.

"Yes?" She glanced away again, avoiding looking at his eyes for too long. There were no signs of pupils or irises in there; his sclera, if it really was all his eyes had, faded from orange around the borders to yellow in the center. Quite interesting, but not the most lovely sight to look at. Not to mention the fissures in the corners of his mouth; it was bone chilling.

"Did something catch your attention?"

Indeed, something had and now that he mentioned it she seemed to realize he was talking to her before she got lost in her thoughts. "I apologize for getting distracted," her hands folded neatly before her, "it was not my intention."

Prince Zant brushed it off with a quirked eyebrow, or lack of thereof, and a grin. "What was it?"

Her lips frowned slightly. "That." Cocking her head towards the wall closest to them, their gazes fell on the only painting hung in the palace library.

He assented with his head once, lips falling open in recognition. "It was given by a queen to King Ardian and Queen Elliét when Midna was born. Lady Elliét and her were pretty close friends when younger." Then added in a quieter tone, "I do not know where it is, though."

"Lake Hylia." Zelda supplied a name for the location without a second thought, feet automatically taking her closer to the painting. "It is a famous lake in Hyurle, the biggest of all." She could not help but touch the bottom right corner of the canvas, gloved digits running over the signature written in white oil ink, the cursive, thin letters slightly tilted to the side like expected.

Her unsaid words hung heavily in the air and constricted her chest painfully, squeezing her heart. Zant had already realized the night before that her mother no longer lived, and perhaps having a painting done by Her Majesty now, in this circumstance, hanging on the library was not the best for Princess Zelda, but maybe it would bring her some comfort and a touch of her old home and kindgom to this place immersed in twilight. Maybe this painting would make it more bearable for her to stay, maybe now that she knew Elliét and her mother once knew each other she would feel a little better.

Zelda's hand fell to her side and she stepped back, face unreadable and guarded. With tense shoulders, she turned her head away from the wall, staring sightlessly out the rectangular window. "She was very talented," he resorted to say, hoping to break the tense atmosphere.

"Yes," the princess tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, "she was."

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><p>Link only saw Zelda again that day when he returned to retire for bed after a long day of locking himself up in his study room, spending half the time filling papers and the other trying to come up with enough excuses to use for the rest of his life. Midna's words were stuck in his mind and, although he admired his wife for doing what she did for her people, it did not make things any less bad in his eyes. He would have to leave someday, he would have to live in Hyrule and help her rule there. He would be confined to living a lifetime locked inside her pompous castle because the sunlight was too dangerous for him, while here both of them would be able to wander outside just fine.<p>

Zelda was sitting and leaning against the headboard, comforters pulled up to her lap and face turned to the window, seemingly lost in thought. She did not see him entering and for that he was glad; the less he had to talk to her, the better. Gruffly, he made his way to his closet whilst unpinning the top of his tabard and chain from his tunic, then after returning them to their designed hangers the prince put on only the loose pair of pants he wore to sleep. Back in his chambers, she had moved to lie on her side, her back to him. How fitting; she, too, did not want to interact with him in the slightest. Link pulled the thick dark curtains over the windows, cutting out all external sources of light and leaving the room under the faint light of only one lit candle, then moved on to his side of the bed, already prepared for him to sleep.

Word had reached him that after Zant showed her the palace library she had grown quieter, if that was even possible. Zelda had not appeared for supper, choosing instead to stay in their room by herself, claiming she felt sick in the stomach and that it was better not to eat. He had to smirk at that, because he once said the same thing, word by word, the first time Zant was invited for dinner when he started courting Midna, which made Link wonder if his brother-in-law had something to do with it. Zant was a skilled sorcerer, he could have tried to show her some tricks and used Zelda as his guinea pig. That could only be it; how could a room in his palace upset his wife that much?

Link watched her back, her breathing slow and steady, a clear symbol that she was asleep. As her husband, he should ask her what was wrong and even try to help, but he cared for her just as much as he cared for the words said by her father on their wedding day, and so he would not put his nose into other people's business. If she had a problem, she would talk to him and then he would get involved, otherwise, it was he here and she there, on the other side of the bed with her issues and quietness.

Accepting that the day was over, Link blew out the candle.

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><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- In the game, doors open by themselves; I thought it was a cool thing to point out to stress the differences between both realms, but I have no idea of how they work ahahaha

- I thought it would be cool to have fruits of a darker color because of the lack of a real sun; something similar will be mentioned in the future again

- To them, Fierce Deity is a god like Hylia is; you could say he is their... Patron god? Let's pretend that just as Hylia is important to Hyruleans, Fierce Deity is to the Twili; maybe their land was named after him as well, like Hyrule. Still the three Golden Goddesses are above him in Twilight as well!


	5. iv: Gamma

Heellooo!

A little late than usual, but here nonetheless! This chapter introduces that OC I talked about and I totally forgot to finish that picture of him so you know how he looks like. I'll try to publish it till next Friday haha but he doesn't have any outstanding feature, only one that will be mentioned only later on.

Surprisingly I don't have much to say today, so you're all free to read now~

Happy Holidays!

**teach me your ways to find good fanfics, you cutie**

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><p><strong>Gamma<strong>

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><p><em>Gamma is the distance of the Moon's shadow axis from Earth's center in units of equatorial Earth radii. It is defined at the instant of greatest eclipse when its absolute value is at a minimum.<em>

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><p>Time went by at a slow pace, but it went nonetheless. Link counted the days by marking on the calendar on top of his table, crossing out the numbers with red ink. Thirty one and counting; that meant that thirty one days of torture had already passed, minus thirty one days by her side.<p>

Link could not complain, though; or maybe he could. Actually, he could and he would. Zelda was a nice wife, as nice as he got the chance to see it, but she made him angry, so angry he could break his table in half with one punch alone. There were times when she greeted him when he entered their bedroom and made a comment or two, and others when she either pretended not to see him there or truly did not realize he was in the same room as her. There was no pattern in that behavior; she would be fine for days and suddenly act weird, and the other way around happened often too. No one seemed to know why that happened, from what he could gather when he was with his family and she was not with them. Zant did seem to know more than he let on, always staying out of the discussion and acting bored or distracted when the topic was brought up, until he actually got bored (or perhaps annoyed?) and insisted that Zelda was only homesick.

To find out, he had two options: ask her or ask Zant, and the first was just as bad as the second. Link was naturally curious, but he was also prideful, he would not question anyone about what was going on with his wife who he did not care about. What a bad, bad combination of traits, maybe just as bad as their marriage.

On the thirtieth night, Zelda spoke for the first time in four days. She had spoken so quietly Link could easily pretend he did not hear anything and go to sleep, but if she was bothering to talk to him after so long, the least he could do was listen.

"Yes?"

"Can I have someone show me the rest of the palace?"

Ah, yes. After a whole month in the Twilight Realm, she had only seen their bedroom, the dining hall, the library and the hallways that connected all three rooms. She had not bothered to explore the place, but finally she was opening up to the idea of living there; maybe he could convince her to stay, their union would be more bearable, then.

At first, Link knew no one who could do such a thing, to act as her guide, but then, it came to him. They had a servant, a good servant that man was, so good he had been working at the palace for years and refused to retire, and this man happened to have a grandson who had troubles to remain hired in one job for more than a few weeks. This kid spent most of his time helping his grandfather, but received nothing in return. Why not do a good deed and pay the kid to look after his angel of a wife?

Robyn had just left the study room, happy that he was employed again, but even happier that he was going to get to work with the new princess herself. Link rearranged the stack of paper on his desk with a smirk; he would pay anyone to stay with her just so she would not pursue him during his waking hours. And Robyn was around the same age as the Zora she was so fond of; the chances that Zelda would like him were great.

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><p>The library quickly became her favorite place in the palace. Whereas one could say her husband fled to his study to escape her, they could as well say she went to the library to do the same. Link did very little to acknowledge her even when the two of them were alone in their chambers and it was enough to make her fret, gnawing on her bottom lip until the tender skin tore under her teeth and bled. She would suck on the blood, eyes downcast, and wonder what she would need to do to be accepted by him. If anything happened and they were to leave Twilight with him acting so bitter over their marriage, the princess was pretty sure he would throw himself out in the sun and die a slow and agonizing death – which, she guessed, he would choose over living by her side. The library was where she went to think, to meditate and to stare longingly at the painting on the wall. Of all elements, she missed the bright sunlight the most; she could live with the constant warm weather and the dark flora, but never she had thought a life without the sun would be so hard.<p>

Zelda was about to sit on her usual armchair by the open window when there was a frantic rap on the door. Alarmed that something bad could have happened, she put down her book on the nearby round table and hurried to the door, calling out for the person to enter. The princess was stopped halfway when a boy with a long scarf wrapped around his head rushed a few steps in and dropped to his knees in reverence, forehead touching the floor as he bowed deep before her, leaving her speechless.

"Princess Zelda, Your Highness!" He wheezed and then coughed, air failing to get to his lungs.

She stood up straighter, rapidly recovering after his outburst. "Please, stand."

And he did so, very obediently and very quickly. The Twili was no taller than Ralis, but given that their race was known for its high stature, with only one known exception, she could not give any shots and try to guess his age, but his face, though shadowed by the scarf, was one of a boy still in his teens. His form was lean and slim, features simpler than the Royal Family's, matching the ones seen on servants, body mostly black, decorated with the famous Twili patterns. The long dark scarf fell behind him and touched the back of his knees; why he needed such thing when it was always so hot was beyond her comprehension.

"Introduce yourself," she said kindly, lacing her fingers together before her navel.

He did a salute, possibly one done by Twili guards and knights. "I am Robyn. I was designed by Prince Link himself to watch over you and keep you company."

The princess regarded him, a palm now resting on her cheek. She had her doubts about this. While she was in no way opposed to the idea of having a teen to spend most of the day with (adults were more likely to inquire about her personal life and tastes, and she would rather keep that to herself), she would much likely bore him to death. The princess did not do nothing interesting at all, why would her husband assign such an energetic boy to serve as her companion?

But she had no heart to send him away without testing him first; actually, she did not have a heart to send him away at all.

Robyn shifted under her stare, growing anxious with the way she looked at him, so intently and seriously, but then she blinked, apparently rousing from her thoughts, and smiled. The princess, the one married to Prince Link, smiled at him! He could not help but give a wide smile back at her, hands fumbling with the long end of his scarf to keep them occupied. "Very well, Knight Robyn." His smile bloomed into a full grin at the mention of the title. Amazing! He would be treated as a knight by her! There was no greater honor!

Zelda told him to wait while she put the books she had picked into a vacant cabinet given to her, piling them in order of relevancy and making sure to tuck her annotations under the last book, keeping them away from sight. "Where to, My Lady?" Asked Robyn whilst bowing deeply, and Zelda approached him, touching her hand to the fabric wrapped around his head.

"Do you have stables?" He nodded his head, already whirling around on his heels. "Then, lead the way."

* * *

><p>She knew many aspects of the Twilight Realm were not like Hyrule, for example she could mention their wedding rituals. While back at home the bride and the groom had extravagant designs painted on their hands with henna and the ring was a simple golden band that could be removed, here you had your hands dipped in ice-cold water, the ring was one that closed around your finger and would never move from there. It bound you to the person eternally; she was bound to the Twilight Prince and still could not decide if that was a good thing.<p>

In any case, Zelda had expected they had horses or any kind of animal that resembled one, even boars were acceptable. However, here she was, facing one of the strangest creatures that tried to reach her from over the division of its little pen, and every time it made an attempt, she unconsciously leaned back. Robyn seemed to find her actions amusing, and really, she admitted she must have looked rather silly doing that; just who would imagine the quiet Hylian princess would back away from... This? Anyone would, though, anyone from Hyrule that knew just exactly what these were.

She had seen them before flying about Hyrule Field, attacking carriages and riders, featherless birds that screeched and dived, beaks parted to bite and tail pointed. They were as bad as they could be, possibly the most annoying flying creatures she had the chance of crossing paths with. But these were much bigger. "What are these?"

Robyn gladly provided her the answer she needed. "Shadow Kargaroks." Zelda assented her head once, suspicions confirmed.

Regular Kargaroks had a peculiar appearance, but the Twilight version of them was just... Off putting. The body was black, reflecting silver when under the light, the tail was long and bent oddly at the end, and the feet had only three fingers each. Square shaped holes were present on the wings with angular edges, and the head... It had no beak, no eyes, nothing. The head, if one could call it that, was concave like a ladle spoon, which expanded and contracted as it breathed, and inside she spotted the usual Twilight marks, but this time they were red. The princess breathed in deeply and tried not to curl her fingers. It was fine, she had seen worse, she only needed to learn how to ride one of these and make use of them only once, and then she would never have to face these again. It was fine, it should be easy.

The Shadow Kargarok cocked its head back and screeched, sounding much like a trumpet. Her eyes widened slightly. "She is happy to see you!"

"She?"

Robyn nodded. "Epona, Link's personal Shadow Kargarok. She is very friendly, but I would advise you to not try and ride her."

Zelda regarded Epona, somehow feeling it staring back at her. "I would not dream of it," she murmured, turning her head away from the creature. "Do I get one for myself?"

"Yes, it should be the one you choose to train with." Her eyebrows arched, not that he saw it. So the one she picked was hers, no one would tell her which one was easier to tame and which one would try to make her fall. How great. Falling off a horse was bad, falling off a Shadow Kargarok while flying was–

Good Goddesses. Breath caught in her throat, Zelda directed her gaze to the dark floor of the stables. She would fly. Fly. Like a bird, like a butterfly. Just how would someone teach her how to ride these whilst high in the air? She could already see herself falling to her death.

Her worries must have shown on her face, because the next thing she knew Robyn had touched her on the arm, then quickly retracted his hand while apologizing profusely; she merely brushed him off. "Are you feeling fine, My Lady?"

She let out a weak, breathy laugh, and lifted her eyes from the ground. "I admit I am feeling a little queasy." Pursing her lips, she laced her hands together once again and looked at the Twili. "Perhaps we should go inside. I could really use something to drink, at least, considering I missed luncheon again."

"My Lady, that is bad for your health." Zelda nodded, facing the dark bird once again. Epona cocked her head to the side this time and remained silent, until Robyn held an apple before her and she squealed before snatching it away. "Let us go, then, Your Highness."

Zelda turned around before she could see just how Epona would eat the fruit and followed the kid outside into the gardens. It was all so different, it was hard to adapt. The thin branches and trunks twisted and turned, the leaves were of such a dark green it resembled black, red was burgundy, white was somehow darker, and everything had a color scheme that did not match the one she was used to. This world needed color, more than just the orange, pink and hues in between that permanently painted the skies, more than just dark orange cantaloupes and overripe looking bananas.

Robyn led the way, chatting amicably and telling her some facts about the Twilight Realm, which she hoped she would get to see with her own eyes someday. The Mirror Of Twilight was located in a chamber inside the palace, far from the main entrance that led to an open patio where the residents of this world gathered when there was an audience or event. He said many people were there during the wedding ceremony, hoping she would come out and introduce herself, but Prince Link had ordered the guards to tell them she would not be appearing so soon. While she did not care what people thought of her, the fact that his actions made her seem arrogant for not wanting to appear publicly was enervating; she needed to give the people a good impression, and now she needed to make up for that. Link was not allowed to decide on her behalf if she would talk to them or not.

"Actually, Knight Robyn," she cut him off, smiling apologetically when he shut his mouth quickly, "I can go a little longer more without eating. Could you go ahead and see if King Ardian is available? I would like very much to speak to him."

"Of course, My Lady!" He saluted with a grin and went ahead, long scarf flapping behind him as he jogged to the other side of the garden. Zelda dropped her shoulders and slowed down to a stop, feeling her head pulsing and legs growing weak. This place was being so hard on her.

* * *

><p>It had been an okay day for Link so far, he finished his paperwork, had some time to take a nap, had a delicious meal with most of his family, father and wife excluded, and ignored his mother's concerned comments regarding Zelda's health. Later he and Midna joined their father in a meeting with the council members and province representatives, a boring event that stretched on for a great part of the first half of the afternoon. Then his father left when his trusted advisor shared words with someone by the door, still nothing unusual considering he was doing that often to prepare his children, more specifically Midna, to their future.<p>

The meeting had just ended and Link walked alone through the hallways, humming a tune to himself while going over all that was discussed and decided. He told Midna he would be the one to fill Ardian in on what he missed, seeing this as an opportunity to get busy again and escape from his wife a little longer; his sister, of course, saw right though his façade, but still told him to go for she had many things left to do and departed with a sour look on her face. He brushed this off, he did not care about what she had to say, Link knew she would have understood him if she were in his place instead.

Asking most servants he crossed paths with of his father's whereabouts, he set off to his office with a warning that "His Majesty is not alone and does not wish to be disturbed." Nonsense, he thought, whoever it was could wait until he was finished there. It was more important that he knew what was planned to the festival that was to come in some months than whatever they were discussing at the present time.

"Are you sure about that?" His father's voice rang from inside the room; Link smoothed a palm down his tunic as porcelain crinkled from the other side of the door, and the same hand came up to knock on the door, only to remain frozen in the air.

The second person spoke. "I believe the people should not be kept in the dark." Link felt a frown forming on his face; so much for trying to run away from his wife and he ran into her instead. Nothing was ever on his favor.

The Twili King did not say anything for a while, and his son pictured him sipping his black tea calmly with his gaze averted to the side, as he usually did when pondering and going over pros and cons. "That is very thoughtful of you, Princess Zelda." Link scoffed quietly to himself. "But consider your safety. You will be more prone to being attacked."

"On such a short notice, I find it hard that anyone will have time to plan an assassination." His frown deepened, just what were they talking about? "I can assure you I can handle whatever happens, though."

Ardian laughed heartily at her comment as he set the cup down. "You Hylians, no, Hyruleans are born ready for battle, are you not?"

"I suppose."

"What can you do?"

There was a moment of silence, and then she spoke. "Father had the captain of his guard teach me archery and swordsmanship, and basic hand-to-hand combat before I left."

"Did he have any reason to do that?"

"I insisted that I left home knowing something so I would not be a burden if anything ever happened here."

Link took a step back and raised his eyebrows slightly at that. How nice of her, and he did not mean it sarcastically. Here he had thought she would come over completely unprepared, but here she was, speaking fluent Twili and knowing how to handle herself in a battle. Still...

"I am afraid the Hyrulean style of fighting will not do much harm to us Twili for our ways differ from yours greatly, but I appreciate that you put time and effort into that. Surely it will come handy." Link could imagine Zelda nodding; that was all she ever did. "I will tell my guards to spread the word. Tomorrow you will have your audience."

Another nod. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You may be excused if you wish to leave." A chair scrapped lightly on carpet, and he added as an afterthought. "Please try not to miss meals again. Your health is our greatest concern."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Link increased the distance between him and the door, which slid open shortly after to let her out. Dressed in pastel blue, his wife curtsied to him and murmured a greeting, then went left towards the young Twili he had assigned to escort her around. Realizing he was being watched the whole time while eavesdropping, the prince swallowed but knew the kid would not tell anyone anything if he wished to keep his job; not that Link would fire him, he would feel bad for doing that, but if his father ever found out... Well.

After she turned around the corner and disappeared from within hearing range, he let out a breath and stepped inside his father's office, the door sliding closed behind him smoothly. "The meeting is already over?" Ardian inquired, to which Link replied with a nod while taking a seat, the chair still warm with her heat. "Oh... Fill me in, then."

He considered asking first what she was doing there, he was curious and just dying to know, but that would leave open an opportunity to his father to tease him and ask just why he avoided the Hylian so much. It was an old topic with old explanations that, really, he was tired of repeating over and over again, and he was sure his father was tired of countering all things he pointed out. It would be a waste of time and breath, and so far, his mood was superb. Link did not want to ruin that.

"This is what was decided," he started, gaze on the pink lipstick stain left on the cup.

* * *

><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- It was weird to give Epona such an odd appearance, but I figured that horses wouldn't be their prefered mean of transportation given that the Twilight Realm layout is basically many floating islands according to the game, so Shadow Kargaroks were the best solution

- Link and Zelda now will be able to reenact the Whole New World sequence from Aladdin


	6. v: Center Of Mass

Hey y'all!

I hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did! This last Friday I beat for the first time Majora's Mask, hence why I didn't post, and yesterday I had a lot of cleaning and cooking to do around here. Today I had a lot of of time to review it calmly, though I'm pretty sure I might have missed something; the weather is so hot it makes me super sleepy.

Just a note: I won't be around for some days in January due to some family reunions and a trip, so I won't be able to post because nooo internet, but it'll allow me to catch up on what I didn't/won't write this December hehehehe

Go ahead and enjoy this chap!

**So glad you had a good Christmas and also got such nice presents, you deserve them all!**

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><p><strong>Center Of Mass<strong>

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><p><em>In orbital mechanics, the equations of motion of celestial bodies (stars, planets, moons, etc.) are formulated as point masses located at the centers of mass. In other words, the motion of a celestial body can be predicted assuming the object's entire mass is concentrated into one single point called the center of mass.<em>

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><p>The Twili technology was more advanced than the Hyruelan. She saw it in the way doors had no knobs and opened by themselves, and somehow were locked even if there was no actual lock to insert a key. The whole palace was powered by orbs made of pure power called Sols, the source of life of every Twili as well as source of energy for many components of the castle, as told by Robyn. She guessed they were also the reason why the common Twili patterns on the walls and furniture glowed, and wondered if these could work as source of light like candles, but only much brighter.<p>

At the open patio in the front of the Palace of Twilight, she was positioned behind a speech podium and up on a platform that floated, as surreal as it sounded. With its edges glowing the same blue hue of the traditional marks she saw everywhere, it was high enough to allow her to see most Twili present to meet her for the first time. She was surprised to see so many, especially if one was to consider it was only revealed she would be making her first physical appearance less than a day ago, but there they were, all of which looked more like Robyn than the Royal Family. Zelda smiled slightly as Ardian's advisor presented her, eyes sweeping about the crowd that gathered there that morning, if she could call it that, only to see her gripping the podium so tightly her fingers hurt.

They murmured among themselves in hushed tones. To them, she was as weird looking as they had been at first for her. It was understandable; she doubted any of them had seen a Hylian, or any other Hyrulean race, in person before, but she had seen them, the Twili King Ardian more specifically, when he went to Hyrule to sign a contract with her father and ran into her just when he was leaving. Now it seemed Queen Rosenna and Queen Elliét were once acquaintances, she could not help but wonder what would have happened had her mother not passed away due to bloodloss. Maybe she would have convinced her father not to sell her off, maybe she and Link would have been friends and would naturally fall in love, maybe it could have happened with Midna, and maybe she could have been promised to someone else.

Zelda set her jaw, but kept the amiable smile on her face at all times. There was no point in thinking of what could have been; it was useless to wonder how her life would be now if her mother were alive. There was only now, there was only the future, the past no longer concerned her, she could not waste her time thinking of then and neglect the now. She was there to make things better for all.

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you." She spoke, voice thick with accent, but if everyone in the palace could understand her, then so could them. More murmurs arose and she continued, unbothered by them. "I apologize for taking so long to make my first physical appearance. It has been hard to adjust, but so far it is going well." Inhaling deeply and heart hammering in her chest, the princess tried to coax it back into a slower pace. It was going to go fine; it was like speaking to her people back home, only this time she had to make a good first impression or else they could hate her forever like her husband.

It should be easy, piece of cake.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and passed the word to Jaiho, now eager to get this over with as soon as possible. The audience was planned to for last about two hours; she hoped it would not stretch on for longer than that.

* * *

><p>Link never understood why they needed to start planning the festival months before it happened. There were still many weeks to go, but his mother insisted on trying out all decorations on the ballroom and all foods that were to be served, nothing could go wrong, she was a perfectionist. He understood her worries, the festival was held in honor of the Twili gods and deities, but there was no problem if the fish tasted bad in the end; it was not like the ethereal beings would punish her for picking the wrong condiments. They would not know if it was edible or not, but to tell her she was overreacting was like saying Fierce Deity did not exist; he had been there once and he did not want to be there again.<p>

So he sucked it up, in his sister's words, and sat with them at the dining hall, picking at the huge diversity of meals that were brought to the table to be proved and approved (or rejected, the majority of things were not approved by Her Majesty Elliét). Link had a big appetite and would usually eat a lot, but he was not one to seat and snack and give his opinion on it. If it tasted good then it was approved, but his mother seemed to think differently.

Midna and their mother chatted while Zant read a book, only putting it away when the cooks brought them something, and Link was left alone to his thoughts. He heard from his parents earlier that Zelda was holding an audience with the people seeing as she had not done it yet under his orders, which earned him a glare from his father. He said nothing of it, it was better not to say; if he blatantly lied and said he was only caring for her well being his father would reprehend him, if he said the truth the outcome would be the same; there was no escaping Ardian's sharp tongue, and the disapproving look his mother gave him stirred something inside of him.

He was angry, still angry since he found out, and he did not think he would ever feel better again. They gave him hell for not putting Zelda on a pedestal and treating her like a fragile crystal, but they did not know what it was like to meet their fiancée only when they were to exchange vows. Both he and Zelda could have been acting slightly better to each other had his parents told him themselves what they had stored for him; Midna told him out of pity, which infuriated him, it showed they would only mention the Hyrulean princess if he ever started seeing someone else. His sister had been kind enough to tell him before he went through puberty, before he even knew what puberty was.

She also said often that he was acting like a stupid child for being so hung up on it. She told him, just let it go, and it often made him ponder if he was still mad at it all or if it was just psychological, like he could not believe they did that and could not get over it, because then he would not have another thing to direct his hate. It was true, though, it was unbelievable, to this day he still could not grasp just what went over their heads that made them think it was an acceptable solution, what was worse was that they went with it. Never in the history of the Twilight Realm did arranged marriages happen, why did his have to be the first?

How could Zelda even cope with this? What happened when she found out she was going to marry someone she did not know? Surely, this did not happen in Hyrule, arranged marriages had to be a foreign concept there, too.

The cooks brought another serving of meals. He could smell turkey, basil and something else he did not know. He was no chef; there was no way he would know what was in there. Holding in a long sigh, Link sat up straighter and fixed the napkin on his lap, trying to wipe away the bored look on his face. How dreadful. For how long had he been sitting there?

Elliét took her sweet time to taste the concoction, turning the plate around to look at it from every possible angle before picking up her fork and knife from the table. Link caught Midna's gaze, who smiled at him with a slight shrug, and he returned the gesture with a roll of his eyes; she, too, did not want to spend most of the day tasting different plates, but she did a better job than he did in masking her thoughts and pleasing their mother. The same could be said for Zant, though he was not required to entertain her like the siblings were.

Finally, the queen gave an approving nod, but still was not completely satisfied. "I think it is missing something."

"It's good the way it is, mother." Link tried to argue, but walls would listen to his words more than she would. Elliét sent away the cooks and went back to chatting with her daughter, and Link was once again left alone.

His father had given him the day off, hoping he would go and hold the audience with Zelda, but still did not get his hopes up for he knew Link would not go. But still it was a nice day and he could be doing something else, like riding Epona over the plains at south and escaping form the castle life for only a moment, but this had to be part of his father's plan; Ardian must have told his mother to drag him in this if he decided not to accompany his wife. He guessed he was paying the price for being a terrible husband.

Just then came in his wife, probably followed by Robyn who had chosen to stay outside on the hallway waiting for her. Link raised his eyebrows in disbelief; her audience was over but this was not? What did he ever do to deserve this? She greeted them with a soft smile on her lips and chose to sit to his right, arranging the napkin neatly on her lap. "Already over?"

She assented her head. "They did not ask many things. I guess I look intimidating." He frowned, but she did not see; Zelda was being serious about it, but he could not classify her as the intimidating type, she looked anything but. "I was going to the library until I found His Majesty King Ardian. He told me to come here."

Link hummed; his father was trying to get her to eat while trying to make them interact more. Well played, he admitted. He also noticed everyone looking their way, Zant included, and silently glared at them until they turned to glance elsewhere; his mother had a bright smile on her face while Midna was smirking and rolling her eyes as she fell back into a small talk with Élliet. Morons.

"There is only one more meal left and one dessert, Link." Zant provided from the other side of the table without looking up from his book. "Try not to celebrate too loudly."

He chuckled lightly. "I will try." Elbow on the table and chin on his fist, he stared at the wall ahead, noticing from his peripheral vision that Zelda was playing with her wedding ring. Link pondered; she seemed thinner than when she had arrived, skipping meals so often definitely was not good for her. Would she lose so much weight the ring would fall from her finger? Would she unbound herself from him? Would the gods accept that?

What would happen if the ring did not fit her anymore? Would she be free to go? Would that leave him as the only one eternally bound to the other?

Unacceptable.

He would not be the one to remain bound, if anything, he should be the one to have the ring removed in any possible way and as soon as possible. His father had done well in sending her to the dining room, but there was very little one small portion would do to put back the weight she lost and, consequently, keep the ring on her finger.

The next round of meals came faster than the last. It was soup, just what he did not need. Once a bowl smaller than his hand was placed before him, he slid it towards her, silently telling her to have his part. Zelda looked up at him, but said nothing except for a thank you, and proved the soup while the queen did a poor job in pretending she was not watching the interaction. The last thing he had in mind was concern, he just did not want to be the one who would still have the ring, and already the people did not like him, if someone died under his watch, they would give him hell. Things were already bad enough as they were. "I am satisfied already," he stated without looking at her and did not expect an answer.

Élliet approved the soup; it was creamy and smelled of pumpkin, and it was only the second meal she had approved that day and they needed at least five others more to serve at the festival. Thankfully, the next round of testing different meals for the entire morning was one week away and this time Link would do all in his favor not to participate in this.

The bowls were taken away, except for the extra one in Zelda's hold, and they patiently waited for the first dessert on the list. Midna asked the other princess a few questions regarding the audience, to which she replied briefly, not giving out too many details nor dragging the subject on for too long. Link noticed how they put effort into including her in small talks and things alike, constantly asking for her opinion and requesting that she tell them some of her past experiences, but it seemed like she did not enjoy talking about her past much, and when they inevitably inquired her of the wedding preparations and how she found it out, Zelda instantly grew distant and silent, eyes blank like when she first arrived and hid behind a composed mask that could not be shattered no matter how much they tried. Soon they would see what he had seen already, that it was best not to mention her father for it made her uneasy and unhappy, that was not such a hard concept to grasp.

Once she was finished, the cooks entered with pretty, little porcelain bowls placed on silver trays, filled to the brim with a chocolate concoction that made his mouth water. That one he was not giving to her, he had a sweet tooth he had to feed. Chocolate mousse filled the bowls, topped with dark chocolate icing and cacao nibs, his favorite dessert and he knew his mother would approve of this. The only thing missing were the juicy strawberries he liked to cut up and add to the recipe, but he did not need them at the moment.

However, Zelda seemed hesitant to try this. After staring at it for a few seconds, she dipped her spoon into the mousse with a little more force than necessary before anyone could question her and swallowed quickly, as if she did not enjoy the taste or like it could burn her throat. He shrugged to himself, whatever, and enjoyed the dessert from start to finish, scrapping the bottom of the bowl to get as much as he could, which made his mother frown at him in disapproval. Zant peeped in, "Let him, Lady Élliet, he is finally trying it without a frown on his face." Link glared at the tallest Twili present, and Midna laughed from behind her spoon.

As soon as he was finished, Link excused himself and did not stick around for too long, heading out straight to the stables.

* * *

><p>"Are you feeling well, Lady Zelda?"<p>

Blinking herself out of her trance-like state, the princess lowered her gaze to the young Twili that accompanied her to the royal library of the palace. Yes, she was feeling well, though she did not know for how long that feeling would last. Perhaps she should have declined the dessert, but it was far too late to regret that now, the only thing she could do now was brace herself for what was to happen.

Stopping by the door, Robyn stared at her with concern, but she seemed to be looking right through him. Ever since she exited the dining hall, Zelda seemed to be distant, even more than usual, spacing out and getting lost in her own cloud of thoughts. She replied sincerely, "For now, I am." His forehead frowned, and she shook her head slowly, facing forward again.

Zelda did not mean to drift away and worry him and she did not know what prompted her to do so. She did not remember what she was thinking about in the first place, but she knew, if even for a moment, that she was greatly confused by Link's actions. If he was actually satisfied then, she did not know, but he could have simply declined proving the pumpkin soup instead of passing his portion to her. The princess did not, even for a second, deceive herself into thinking he was just a bit worried, though; it was unlikely that he was, he could be only following his father's orders to watch over her – yes, that sounded like a plausible answer.

Tucking a lock of hair behind her pointed ears, she told herself not to worry about it. There were other things to worry about, far more important than how her husband decided to act; already, she could feel her stomach twisting. She did not like judging people before she got to know them, but she was living in the palace for over a month now and he did not, would not talk to her for longer than five minutes. She knew why, he did not like her, he did not want to be married to her, and honestly, she did not want to be either, but she was not being so... Childish about it. If only he tried to interact with her more, then the idea of being married would sound more appealing, even if only a little more.

Nodding to herself, she stepped forward and stopped when pain ripped through her abdomen so suddenly. Wincing and reaching for the wall for support, the princess bent forward and pressed one forearm against her stomach, feeling Robyn's hands on her shoulders for a split second before they disappeared. Torn between wanting to help her and following the rules that dictated he should not touch those from nobility, the young Twili hovered over her and called her name, voice growing high as panic soared through him when he glanced about and noticed they were alone.

Bad timing. "Get someone," she bit out, leaning her shoulder against the wall and slowly lowering herself to her knees. Wide eyed, Robyn turned on his heels and ran down the hallways, nearly tripping on his own feet and scarf almost falling off his head.

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><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- Zelda's sickness will be explained on the next chapter, and I'll also explain why I didn't choose the first symptom on the list


	7. vi: First Contact

/rock you like a hurricane chorus playing repeatedly/ HERE I AM

Life taught me an important lesson yesterday. So I was reviewing this chapter and before I finished I decided to go grab some snacks because why not, right? After I got comfortable on my seat again, the light went out and it did not return so soon, that's why nothing was posted yesterday. Moral of the story: always finish what you're doing, because you could either be working on your fic or that essay you have to send in thirty minutes lmao

It did give me lots of time o edit something I changed in the last minute, though. Now that the holidays are officially over and I can't play Black Flag with the bae all day long, I'm hoping I'll get back to writing daily again /flexing my muscle emoji

Enjoy!

**Sends you many good vibrations on this new yearrrr**

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><p><strong>First Contact<strong>

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><p><em>The instant when the partial phase of an eclipse begins.<em>

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><p>Epona soared through the skies, flapping her long wings and relinquishing on the feeling of flying again with her master, Link. Situated on her back, the Twili inhaled deeply the fresh air from the forest and set off towards the palace again, already missing the feeling of freedom he was leaving behind among the trees. There were things he could only experience when leaving his home for a day and this was one of them. When he was alone in the forest, it did not matter who he was or what he did, he could enjoy his free time without being interrupted by anyone. Besides, running away only for a few hours was much more exciting than staying around in the castle and trying to find something to do that was not his chores.<p>

The weather was nice that day, too bad he did not have the chance to enjoy it fully. Link left a few moments before the official time for luncheon and now was returning just in time for supper; it was only a half of the total time he would usually spend away, but it was better than going back to his stuffy study room. He had the chance to see his friend again and spend some time together after a long weeks apart, no one could understand him like Epona could and she was only a Shadow Kargarok incapable of speaking.

The trip back always seemed to pass by quicker, something he did not like in the least. He was never anxious to get home soon, unless he knew they would serve something he greatly loved, only then he would make sure to arrive earlier. From where they were, he could already see the silhouette of the Palace of Twilight in the distance, tall, angular and waiting for him to arrive. This time, his wife would join them for supper, and if he were to consider the ring issue it was a good thing; she needed to eat or else the wedding band would fit her no longer, and then he would be screwed.

He barely had time to land on the courtyard between the stables and the palace, for the next thing he knew Robyn was hurrying in his direction – should not he be with Zelda? – and looking very panicked. "Prince Link!"

Epona stretched her wings before tucking them by her sides and screeched when her master patted her neck. "Hello, Robyn. How is it going?"

"Princess Zelda-" Link groaned at the mention of her name, but luckily, he was just hopping off Epona's back when the sound was made. "- is sick!"

"She's _what_!?" The prince whirled around to look at the kid in the eyes, then hastily threw the reins at the approaching ranch boy and marched towards the castle, the younger Twili hot on his heels. "How did it happen?" Great, just great, just what he needed now.

"W-We do not know, she started feeling sick shortly after you left."

What was that? He could understand it if she had not eaten anything and fainted afterwards, but she _did_ eat and still fell sick? That was unheard of, never in his life had he seen such thing happening before. It had to happen right while he was away, too, just to make it seem even more that he did not care. Though he believed some people did not like her for being Hyrulean or the idea of an interracial marriage, he did not know if someone, his family and Robyn aside, liked her and did not mind her presence. The people already did not like him before, maybe now they despised him for marrying an enemy of another species or for leaving when she got sick; surely, word of her illness reached their ears, the servants enjoyed gossiping with anyone they crossed paths with.

If she got worse or died, it could spark another war and the blame would fall on his shoulders. Whatever he did would result in part of the populace being angry with him when all he wanted was that they directed their hate somewhere else instead to give him a break. His popularity was hitting the bottom of the well, not that it was far from there before Zelda came along.

Servants evaded him like he was on fire, pressing themselves up against the wall as he stormed through the palace towards his chambers, hair tousled from the ride and clothes badly arranged. He must have looked quite the scene, but his looks were the last thing on his mind; for once, he was concerned about her health – and it did not matter if she was an enemy or of another race, if she died in his arms the outcome would be the same: a war. He was thinking in loops, the same thoughts over and over. She just needed to live, and then all would be well for him.

At his door he found his parents and Zant, Midna nowhere in sight – he presumed she was inside with his wife. Ellíet looked deeply troubled while his father had a frown on his face; his brother-in-law, the only one maintaining a composed expression, said quickly. "She asked you not to go inside."

Link glared darkly at him – she what? – and answered fervently. "I am her husband! I go where she goes!" The doors slid open to him as he brushed past his family, entering his room that was empty and as normal as he had last seen it. Just as his eyebrows drew together, a noise came from inside the bathroom, and his tunic rustled loudly as he hastily went for the door.

Midna sat with Zelda by the toilet, gentle hands rubbing soothing circles on her back and holding her hair away from her face, as the Hylian princess took in quick breaths before leaning forward and vomiting, cold sweat tricking down her temples, cheeks and neck. His sister caught his eyes and parted her lips to speak, but he beat her to it. "Out!" He barked and moved in closer to them, forcing her hands away from his wife and taking her place instead. Reluctantly, Midna stood up and rolled her eyes at the scowl on her brother's face, but left the scene quickly, joining the rest of her family – and Robyn – in a few seconds.

"I don't know if he is angry or concerned," she said quietly, to which her husband replied in a hushed tone.

"Angry," said Zant, eyes distant as he stared at the door. "He definitely looks angry."

Zelda vomited one last time before falling back and collapsing against her husband's chest, eyes clouded and face pale, and completely relaxed against him. For good measure he checked her wrist, though there was no need to since she was gulping in large intakes of breath, then, as gently and calmly as he could, he moved her to lean back against the cool surface of the bathtub. Her gaze was hollow as she met his, which made a cold shudder roll down his spine, but he did not let it bother him as he pressed his palm to her warm forehead, and her eyelids closed.

Swallowing down, he let out in a calm tone. "How are you feeling?"

She managed one small smile – there was nothing to smile about – and her shoulders shrugged ever so slightly. "Like trash," her voice was raspy and her answer was plain like that. What a language, but it was a nice change from her stoic and formal manner of speech.

Touching his palm to her cheek, Link recoiled his hand and went for the cabinet, withdrawing a face towel from inside which he dipped under the cool water from the faucet. He was gentle as he patted the towel on her damp skin, wiping away the sweat that decorated her form, but he made sure to do it just so she would react to his touches and not fall asleep or faint sitting on the bathroom floor. When he finished, he left the cotton fabric hanging on the edge of the bathtub and shifted his wife around, trying to find the best angle to pick her up. With a slight grunt, Link had her off the floor and in his arms, and quickly transported her to their bed, lying her down on her side of the mattress. Her eyes still had not focused completely, so he took her hand to see if she would notice him there – she looked his way unseeingly, but at least she was looking at him. "What happened?" He inquired; she frowned.

Zelda's hand felt light and almost bony in his, skin so pale he could see the veins underneath. Why was she skipping meals, he wanted to ask, did she do that on purpose, but then he thought, what if she did not eat because this was a common occurrence? How would he keep her alive if she could not do the most basic of things? His heart thudded loudly – it could not happen, never happen. Nothing could ever happen to her, not while she was there in the Twilight Realm. Her fingers curled loosely around his hand, and he could only return the gesture and wait for her to reply, but she was still tired from what had just transpired. The prince frowned; she needed to react soon, she needed to get better soon to tell him what happened, but just as he prepared to speak again, she fell asleep, hand slipping from his grasp and falling on the bed beside her thigh. He looked at it in disbelief, luck was not on his side lately, and turned her palm up, pressing two fingers to her pulse and feeling it beating steadily under his digits. Link would keep his fingertips there just in case.

Midna entered the room again after a while, one eyebrow arching naturally at the sight that met her eyes, and he ground out gruffly. "I thought I told you to get out."

"But I did," she said with a hint of humor in her voice then closed the gap between them, coming to stand by the bed close to where he had decided to seat. She presented him with a book; brown cover made of leather and tied off with a strip of the same material. "By the time we found her, Princess Zelda was writhing in pain and could barely open her mouth or else she would vomit, but she managed to tell us to look through her things before emptying her stomach."

"And?"

Another eyebrow lifted. "Turns out she has a sickness that is unheard of around here. She is allergic to milk. She cannot eat any dairy products or else she feels sick. She brought a biology book with her; the medics are translating it to find out more."

Link spared the book a glance before looking up at his sister. "What did she eat?"

"Only the soup and the mousse. Both had milk or cream and her stomach reacted badly. Zelda is extremely intolerant to lactose."

He exhaled through his nose and turned back to his wife, who found peace in her sleep. That was why she was so hesitant to eat the chocolate mousse; she knew it would do her no good, but she ate it anyway, probably afraid of offending them or passing off as rude – and Link had given her his bowl of pumpkin soup. In a way, he had contributed to her ill state; had he not given it to her, the effects could have been different; she could have gotten better already. "Did she vomit the whole time I was away?"

Midna shook her head negatively, and he felt relief washing over him – no wars for now. "It happened a lot at first, then it stopped for some time and parts of her skin swelled and turned red; she said it was normal and urged us to look through her things again." She paused to place the book on the bedside table. "Zant offered to carry her, but she said it would be best if she remained where she was. We gave her water to rehydrate and suddenly she was wheezing, she could not breathe." His eyes shot in her direction and Link visibly tensed. "We were so lucky to find two samples of the medicine she needed hidden in an inner compartment just in time. If we had taken a moment longer, she would have died."

Link swallowed thickly; there almost was a war. Zelda already did not eat enough and now they found out she could not eat anything that had milk or any dairy products in it. Maybe now he could understand it. She missed meals purposefully so she would avoid ingesting something she should not, thus avoiding nausea and stomachache and anaphylaxis, but there still were many things she could eat, that was no excuse not to join them, no matter how much he enjoyed her absence.

"They found something else."

"What?"

"Father," her fingers touched the rough cover delicately, "can read and speak Hylian, as you know." Link gave a curt nod of his head, urging her to go straight to the point. He had no patience whatsoever. "This diary was written by someone from the castle. It wasn't her or the king; we think it was written by someone close to her."

Her brother let out an exasperate sigh. "And?"

"It says things about her. Very basic things we should've known since she arrived." Link knitted his eyebrows and stared up at her; why was she not speaking fast enough? "Zelda always forgot she had to eat for she was always doing many things. It is hard for her to notice her hunger, so someone – this person – had to remind her all the time. It also speaks of her allergy and other things concerning her health."

"Why didn't she show us this earlier?" He was angry again, Zelda could have avoided all of this, yet she did not tell anyone of the book or of her problems. He was quite sure she was doing it on purpose; she had spoken to the people earlier that day, it was all part of her plan to make him look even worse in the populace's eyes.

"Because, my dear brother Link," Midna started whilst picking up the rectangular object from the bedside table, "this book was addressed to you, her husband. How could she give it to you when you were avoiding her like she was the plague?" Tossing the book against his chest, the older sibling left the younger's chamber, leaving him staring at the cover.

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><p>When Zelda awoke again, there was no way to know the time. The twilight forever covering the lands outside the palace walls did little to help her know for how long she slept. The princess remained with her eyes closed for a while longer, trying to come to her senses and remember anything that happened before she fell asleep, trying to discover what was her current condition. Her head felt heavy and her stomach was empty, but there was a foreign warmth close to her left hand, so she slowly blinked her eyes open, staring straight ahead at the ceiling before turning her head to face the side. Her husband sat there, legs bent with a book balanced on his thighs, eyes darting back and forth between said book and something to his left, with two fingers of his right hand pressed against the pulse of her inner wrist, the touch firm.<p>

It took him a while, but eventually he noticed she was awake and looking at him with those blue-grey eyes of hers, empty and calculating, as if trying to guess his humor through that simple gesture. Quickly, he snapped the book shut and tossed it along with the other object under the bed, and with his fingers on her wrist again, Link moved in just a little closer, close enough to see her in the dim candlelight. "How are you feeling?"

She stared at him mutely for a while, "Better." He nodded, content with the answer he got from her, and held her gaze steadily, as quiet as she was.

Head still spinning, her concentration was way too focused on his skin against hers, making her pulse quicken, and his fingers pressed down harder in response. It was hard to breathe, these sudden displays of concern confused her to no end, she agitatedly glanced about, and he calmly coaxed her into breathing, her face in his hands. His tone was gentle, his touches even more so, it was a great contrast from the way he usually acted, cool and distant, but mostly short tempered, losing his patience over the most trivial of things. She could not help it, but her mind wandered and she wondered of his true nature, asking herself just what he hid under the façade of a man who was angry at most of the world. He was mysterious, closed off around himself and unwilling to open up to her. Zelda turned away from him and shut her eyes tightly, holding her breath until her lungs screamed at her to let go. Link forced her head back towards him, and just as steadily as ever, he commanded. "Breathe."

Air rushed out of her and was replaced in her lungs, her ribcage expanding as much as possible to take in as much as it could. Pulse still quick and strong under his digits, Zelda found in her the power to control her breathing and brushed the thoughts that occupied her mind under a carpet; she would rather uncover them and deal with them later than fuss over them now and create another scene. Only the Goddesses knew how much patience Link had left in store to waste on her, she would not push him to his limits, it was best not to. "I am fine."

Link did not seem convinced, but let go of her anyway and increased the space between their bodies, eyebrows pinched as usual. His wife touched a hand to the column of her neck, as if to see if it was intact and whole, then let it rest over her beating heart. "Why did you not tell us?" She had figured it would come to this. There would come a time when he would ask just why she did not say anything, but what difference would it do now? "Why did you not tell me?"

When he put it that way, it did make her feel guilty, even if the feeling was barely noticeable. She supposed she should have told him, he was her husband; they would be forever together if all went well, he had the right to know, but why should she tell him of all little things of her life when he would not even greet her in the mornings? It was a simple concept, she treated him the way she was treated; Zelda would not put him on a pedestal and give him all her attention when it was not reciprocated, still she would not treat him badly. She did the same as him, only her ways were much subtler than his. At the end of the day, she passed off as a victim, but she was just as guilty as he was, Link just did not know how not to draw attention to him.

"Why would I?" She said nonchalantly, fingers curling around the comforters when her husband went still. "You obviously were not interested in anything I had to say." Zelda closed her eyes and felt the mattress shifting under her, followed by the sounds of muted footsteps. She could not help but feel bad for saying that to his face, but at the same time, she felt better, lighter. Someone had to put her husband back into line and it was she who had to do so.

"I will get you something to eat." Link announced already at the other side of the door, which slid down behind his retreating back, not that she saw it. He should not demand anything out of her; considering he was being and acting so childishly and silly, he had no right to know anything.

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><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- Keep an eye out for chapter titles like this one

- Initially, Zelda was simply going to be intolerant to lactose. Then I found out that milk allergy is worse, so I decided to use it to add drama to the story huehue (what drama tho)

- Symptons of milk allergy include: vomiting, wheezing, cramps and diarrhea; some are pretty similar to symptons of lactose intolerance. I used most of them, except the diarrhea part because I was not about to describe Zelda pooping. Yeah

- Anaphylaxis: basically, it's a constriction of airways that makes it difficult to breathe, among other things like shock and itching. It happens a lot when you're allergic to food, like milk and peanuts

- Swelling: where I researched, nothing was said about the swelling of the skin, but it once happened to me because of soda, and just recently to my cousin because of soy, so I used it

- Can't tell what Link thinks/feels about Zelda? Don't worry, it'll be explained soon

- Zelda finally calls Link out on his bullshit


	8. vii: Center Of Figure

Hello!

This past week was a disaster. I went by many hours on consecutive days without power, for no apparent reason or due to strong winds/heavy storms. We live in a two-story house, the reason why he could see from the balcony that the rest of the city had power, but my nerighborhood had not. And also on Thursday and Friday my internet stopped working for no reason, so I was connectivity-less until someone arrived to fix it. ((Just now, while trying to update, it failed to connect me to the site. i'm cry))

Bad news aside, I baked the most wonderful chocolate-banana cupcakes on Saturday and finished the chapter I was stuck on. Super ready to start the next one, more details at the post chapter notes ;)

Only thirteen more to go /hands folded in prayer emoji

Enjoy iiitttt!

**Love you, always, forever**

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><p><strong>Center Of Figure<strong>

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><p><em>The center of figure of a celestial body (e.g., planet, moon) is the apparent center of the object with respect to its surface and takes into account irregularities in its shape. If the distribution of mass is not uniform, then the center of mass does not coincide with the center of figure. In the case of the Moon, the offset between the center of mass and center of figure is ~0.5 kilometers.<em>

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><p>It had taken time, but Zelda fully recovered. On the day following the sickness, she was feeling better, but was not allowed out the room and was constantly being watched, mainly by Link, who kept reading two books at the same time. As much as she did not enjoy being bedridden, she knew it was for the best and so she accepted it, letting them take care of her foreign sickness in their own way. The medics were of no help; most did not know modern Hylian, and Queen Ellét and King Ardian did not know much of biology to help them produce more of the medicine, seeing as some components were only found in her home country. The princess said there were remedies in Hyrule that would help the swollen areas flatten out faster, but they would naturally disappear, just as eating correctly again would help her stomach heal. Fine with that, but not completely satisfied, the rulers of the realm wondered if they should tell her father, which prompted her to immediately say no. That caught Link's attention, but he did not show it and instead kept his head bent as he read the books.<p>

"There is no need to worry him," she had said, "I will heal on my own."

Truthful to her words, she healed on her own accord, skin turning rosy again as the red shade dissipated and the small mounts of skin decreased in size until disappearing completely. Another week passed until they allowed her to leave the room, and soon she was up and about again, spending most of her time in the library and only meeting them when they had meals. Robyn was doing a splendid job in reminding her she should eat and drink water, he also missed her dearly so, for Link would not let him into their chambers for nothing in the world. She buried herself in geography books, both Hyrulean and Twili, while her new companion tried to read the Hylian encyclopedia she brought along, eager to learn more of her language and her people.

Robyn was fascinated by the idea of a world that was both bathed in light or covered under the dark veil of the night at certain hours. He did not know what it was like when it was completely dark, or when it was completely illuminated, spending all his life trapped in a place where the time of the day did not change much. It had been hard for her to adjust and she still did not know correctly when it was time to rise and when it was time to go to bed. With no sun to guide her through the day, Zelda relied on what others did, knowing by their actions the approximate hour. The Twili had a natural clock inside them that permitted them to know the exact time without even glancing at an actual clock; she was lost in that place and had asked Midna to lend her a pocket watch to help keep track of the hours and the days that passed.

She was healed, as good as she had ever been, as if nothing had ever affected her health. It was some days after being officially permitted to live her life, when she was glancing out the library window and thinking about her researches, that she spotted Zant in the courtyard, treating to his Shadow Kargarok under the cool shade of a tree. Calling out for Robyn and not giving him any time to react, the princess rushed out the room and through the castle, down some sets of stairs until she found herself in the gardens, out of breath and flushed in the face. Zant looked down at her and returned her greeting, and quietly listened to her inquiries before answering. "Are you sure?"

Zelda nodded, "Yes. I would like to learn how to ride a Shadow Kargarok."

Zant looked about at a loss of what to say. He considered joking, _for what, so you can run away?_, but thought better of it; it was best not give her the idea, if she had not thought of it already. "Why me?"

"Because Robyn is not allowed to ride our Kargaroks, and you happened to be in the right place at the right time."

He looked up to the left, _wrong place, wrong time,_ the duke thought to himself, and the princess before him nearly smirked – she knew what was going through his mind. "What for?" It was not that he did not like the idea of teaching her how to ride the birds; he did not like the idea of being blamed if she disappeared, but if he were to think logically, where would she run off? She did not know any other place in the Twilight Realm, and if she wanted to go back to Hyrule she would have already gone to the Mirror Chamber two stories under the palace itself.

The princess narrowed her eyes, almost darkly so. Zant realized then and there that she and Link shared a few similarities, for example, both disliked it when people beat around the bush for too long and inquired way too many things, though the princess was much more patient on that aspect, as usual and as expected. "Honestly," She started, barely masking her huff, "I want to do some other things before I read all the books of the palace archive." The prince then glanced at the smaller Twili behind her, who, in a rare display, was smiling up at him widely in an encouraging manner. They were all trying to get her to do something else and here she was, asking him to teach her how to ride Shadow Kargaroks. Well, it was better than nothing, it would hardly hurt him to teach her.

His bird screeched and leaned its head towards her, and Zelda reflexively leaned back, barely maintaining her composure in check. Zant chuckled – the distant princess was slightly disgusted at the appearance of their rides, how amusing – and petted it on the neck. "Easy there, boy." The Kargarok tilted its head in his direction, then stepped back whilst stretching its wings once. "Fine. I will teach you." Zelda smiled slightly, "But you are not allowed to fly too far just yet, alright?" She agreed to it with the slightest of shrugs, content that she got him to help her. "First we need to get you a Shadow Kargarok of your own." Taking his bird by the reins, Zant signaled her to stay put while he returned it to the stables.

* * *

><p>Terrific, Link thought to himself as he stalked through the hallways; servants had brought him another pile of paperwork and letters that morning, and not only that but his mother assigned him to help his sister write all invitations to the festivities that were slowly approaching that afternoon. His fingers already ached from signing way too many documents, he could only imagine the pitiful state they would be by the end of the day, flat on the tips where he held the quill. He had an awful handwriting, scrawny and distorted, even a cucco could write better than he did. His mother must not like the guests, for if she did she would have assigned someone with a prettier handwriting, like Zelda.<p>

Ah, Zelda. A little over than a month had passed since her arrival and about two weeks since she fell sick. Since then, Link had been secretly studying Hylian, translating that damned book of hers into Twili with the help of an old dictionary that had been passed down on the family for generations. It had to be one of the hardest languages to learn, written in symbols that were difficult to read and even more difficult to copy, but he was getting somewhere. The most basic of words he could easily translate, her name and title written in her mother language were something he had grown used in seeing, for they were written in every page at least twice. If one were to ask him to write her name without looking at references, he could probably do that, it would not look pretty, though; his Twili handwriting was bad, his Hylian was worse. He figured it was time he did something in her favor; it did not mean he was any happy with their relationship, but at least he was starting to accept her in his life, in his own way, not that she knew it. Nevertheless, he would be able to surprise her, on the day she gets tired of him and curses him to the depths of the Dark Realm along with his people in her mother language, he would be able to reply in kind and in Hylian too.

His angel of a wife was just too patient for his likings, though that was a good thing, he supposed; someone in their relationship had to be calm and collected. Link wondered at times, what would happen if they ever had a verbal fight? Would it end on physical aggression or physical affection? He had read many of his sister's romance books to know what happened after a couple had a heated fight; it usually ended up with a kiss and the grand finale was on their bed. Midna had way too many erotic books, he suspected they were all gifts from Zant.

Link shuddered with a grimace and shook his head to clear his mind. It was best not to think if they used them as reference for their intimate times. It was also best to not get into fights with his wife.

Did he hate Zelda? No. Did he like her? Definitely not. Their relationship was strictly political and it would remain that way for as long as he could keep it unchanged. He had to admit, though, that she could be the key to either a better or a worse life. The opinion of the people on him did not matter, he would not lose sleep over it, but he would not accept it if she became the reason why they would dislike him more, so it was best to treat her kindly and look after her, so she would not badmouth him to others and nothing would upset the populace. He was not going to let an outsider, a stranger, ruin his reputation, no matter how bad it already was – not that he chose it to be that way. Who needed a wife when you had a Shadow Kargarok?

Speaking of which, rumors ran through the palace that Zant was taking the Hylian princess into town that afternoon to get her one of the birds. It would be the first time she would go there after weeks of being locked up in the angular castle and only leaving its insides to go to the courtyards occasionally (read: rarely). While Link wanted to avoid her as much as possible, he would rather accompany her himself so he could escape from the task his mother gave him; Midna would enjoy it more if it were her husband helping her, anyway, though Zant's handwriting was as terrible as his, if not worse. It would be best if Link were to go with her, too, his brother-in-law did not understand much of Shadow Kargaroks like he did, he would end up believing the seller in whatever they said and would purchase her one that could barely take flight. Maybe if he ran to the front patio fast enough he would be able to stop them and switch places; he would entrust Zant with the task of teaching her, though, simply because he did had the patience for these kinds of things.

With his mind set, Link rounded the corner and darted down the hallway, the long sleeves of his robe flowing behind him as his knees hit the tabard pinned at the front of his tunic. It was just his luck that his sister was waiting for him in a room on the first floor, just a short jog away from the main entrance of the palace. And just as he expected there they were, Zant, Zelda and Robyn descending the last step of the staircase. "Wait!" The three turned at the sound of his voice, watching as he ran in their direction and stopped right before the taller Twili. "You will teach, I will go." Then he looked at his wife as if asking her if she would accept that or decline, but she merely stared back at him, hardly phased by his actions at all.

Zant watched the interaction in silence, debating in his mind if he should comply with such thing. It was no secret why Link sought them, it was rather obvious even, the guy openly complained at breakfast that the task given to him was a drag and growled to himself all throughout the meal when his mother said she would not change her mind. While on a hand, Zant would be letting him have his way, on the other it was the perfect opportunity to force him to spend some time with the Hyrulean princess. Who knew what would happen after an afternoon doing what Link enjoyed, he might even start talking more to her. The duke had to restrain himself for rubbing his hands together for being given that chance.

An eerie smile crept on his lips, which instantly silenced whatever Princess Zelda was about to say and prompted Link to look at him when her lips sealed shut again. "Sure Link," the shorter prince swallowed thickly and noticed when Robyn stepped behind his wife – or was she the one who moved to stand before him? "You understand these birds more than I do." Zant said nothing else as he bowed his head and turned his back to them, ascending the steps in way that made it seem his robes weighed much more than they really did, feet almost dragging on the floor.

The trio stood motionless in place, each staring at a different direction until the future king of the Twilight Realm disappeared behind the front doors of the palace, and Link released a breath quietly. "Let's go," he said firmly, whirling around with his arms open as if to escort them the other way. "Quickly."

* * *

><p>Princess Zelda could still feel cold sweat gluing the hairs of the nape of her neck to her skin, and her stomach churned as if she had drunk milk again. Zant's grin alone was enough to chill her to the bones, but the aura that seemed to emanate from him was the icing of the cake. It seemed to slip through the pores of her skin and turn her blood into ice, hold her heart in a tight grip and suffocate her to death. She did not miss the way the guards nearby seemed to stand still either, holding their breaths until he was away from sight. It was odd, to say the least, to feel such strange sensation coming from him, from someone who seemed harmless and aloof.<p>

"Are you fine?" Link questioned her once they were far from the palace, just bordering the entrance to the town. Assenting with her head once, he then directed his worlds to Robyn who was a few steps behind.

"What was that!?" The youngest yelped, looking over his shoulder to see if they were a safe distance from the building and... Him.

The prince watched as the boy shuddered almost violently. "Zant is– I do not know how to explain exactly. At times things like that happen, alright? But he is usually peaceful and quiet, so do not worry." He paused, then shrugged almost unnoticeably, "Or so I think." Robyn stared at him as if Link had confessed that his brother-in-law committed murder before, and the prince merely ignored his wide-eyed gaze. "He is very anxious, too. You have yet to see what he does when he gets nervous. Still, not to worry."

Zelda nodded solemnly, beckoning to Robyn with a hand. It was easy to see what crossed Zant's head the moment Link arrived; even Robyn, who was so young, innocent and naïve, could see what was going on. It was just what they were all waiting for, the opening his family was searching for, and Link had gone after her on his own, just their luck. The duke would spread the news around like he would spread butter on his toast every morning: generously, covering all inches of the area, then he would lick his lips in anticipation and admire his handiwork. Despite the weird vibes coming from him after her husband's arrival, she was glad Link had showed up and triggered such thing to happen; now, Zelda was aware she could not see Zant only as the nice guy who showed her the way to the library on the second day of her stay. Definitely, he was more than he seemed.

Link watched in silence as the young Twili approached his wife, and the Hylian in return laid her hand on his head gently, ruffling his scarf in a gesture of affection as a smile graced her lips. He wanted to scream. The fact that Zelda was much more open towards Robyn than she was towards her husband was, quite honestly, no surprise to him, but she could not touch the kid in public, just as it was best not to touch Link. In fact, it would be best if she could avoid being seen in their company, but the prince did not consider that when assigning Robyn to follow her around all day long. Now regretting his decision of picking him and tagging along, he could do nothing but continue with it. He could either handle their stares or go back to his palace and have his mother all over him to know just what made him go after his wife.

Zelda was his wife, her closest friend was Robyn and she married the imperfect, shunned prince of the Twilight Realm. What a combo. If only the nobles were more accepting of Hyruleans, his life would have been easier from the start.

Quietly, Link approached her and stared intensely at the kid, who understood his silent order and stepped away from the princess. Zelda did not understand why her husband did that, but accepted it for now with a twitch of her eyebrow. She could try to talk to him later about that, although she doubted he would cooperate much.

"Let us get this over with," Link said curtly, spine straight and chin raised high. He led the way, followed by Zelda and then by Robyn, who trailed behind with his head hung low. The princess tried to shake off the feeling of being intently watched by the people; while she was accustomed to it and their stares did not bother her before, there was something strangely off with them today. Many wore frown on their faces and turned their heads away, while others stared at her with sympathy in their eyes. It was unsettling. Why would the populace do that? Why were they turning their backs on Link, the second son of their king and queen? Why was it that some looked her way and shook their heads, brow furrowed as if she was bound by shackles to the ruler of the Dark Realm?

Mind submerged in questions, Zelda barely paid attention to her surroundings, not seeing much of the city or its market in her first, and probably only, visit. She did not see the Shadow Kargaroks either, did not express her opinions as Link talked to the owner and purchased a bird for her, and did not glance Robyn's way since it seemed to be prohibited to interact with servants when out in public. Her glazed eyes saw nothing, and Link for the first time wished they could leave to Hyrule already.

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><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- "wtf is going on with Zant," you ask, "I don't know," I answer, rubbing my hands in a conspiratorial manner after I adjust my glasses and they do the anime glasses thing

- About that chapter: Link mentions sometimes here, and many times in the future, that the people don't like him. On chap 16 you'll see why


	9. viii: Besselian Elements

Hey!

I got a bit distracted watching a movie, I'm sorry haha

Well this is the last chapter before my two weeks break. I'll be away on a trip with my parents, I'll have internet connection, but after they drag me out all day long through the historical center of the city I doubt I'll have enough energy to review chapters before publishing them gnhghnh I promise I will write a bit while away, alright?

I started writing a Link/Fi friendship thingy, so if you'd like to check it ooouuut~~

To tumblr user _inlemoon_: thank you for your kind words!

I'll see you later, guys!

**Get well soon, bby! **

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><p><strong>Besselian Elements<strong>

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><p><em>The Besselian elements are a series of time dependent variables used to calculate various aspects of a solar eclipse. They describe the movement of the Moon's shadow with respect to the fundamental plane. This plane passes through the center of Earth and is oriented perpendicular to the Moon's shadow axis. Next, the shadow cone is projected onto Earth's surface including the effects of Earth's rotation, the flattening of Earth and the latitude, longitude and elevation of the observer. The local circumstances at the observer's position can then be calculated including the eclipse contact times, eclipse magnitude and the duration of totality (or annularity).<em>

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><p>Link stared unseeingly at the documents placed on his desk, scarred knuckle caught between his teeth and eyebrows pinched as his heart thudded loudly in his ears.<p>

Weeks had passed since their visit to the market and he did not bother in trying to keep track of the time anymore. All he knew was that his wife was being taught by his brother-in-law how to ride the Kargaroks, and since then she had fallen once or twice, but thankfully not from too high. Still her palm was bruised and her left wrist was strained, but she would recover, she would survive. He was sure word of her injuries went past the palace walls, reaching the populace's ears, and now he waited for their words regarding the event. None of them would come and request a meeting to say whatever they had to say to his face, but soon enough he would hear the servants talking, whispering as they worked, thinking they were being quiet enough but his hearing was sharper than they believed.

It was no good.

For certain reasons, they did not like him much, that he understood. For certain reasons, were he the first to be born and not Midna, they would choose her to take over the kingdom when she came of age. Midna was brought to this world first so she would take the throne, these were the rules. He did not envy his sister at all, much on the contrary, he was happy she would be the one sitting on the Twilight throne, and he would be content seating anywhere else but in the Light Realm, but that could not be helped anymore.

Now he did not know anymore if what he did was for his own benefit or for Zelda's. All he did these past weeks was to please the townspeople; he married the enemy and took good care of her, ensured she was healthy and that she would not die in his arms; in his mind, nothing else mattered, only that he was preventing more bloodshed. However, after her first visit to the market, Link did admit that it mattered what the people thought of her - and only her. He was already a lost cause (and for that matter, so was Robyn), but she still could change the people's mindset; the thought of his people disliking someone like her, who barely had something to be disliked, was ridiculous. What he could do to save her from his people's hateful stares? Send her back to Hyrule was the best option, but he could not do that.

He asked some servants about what they thought of her and what the people said after her first public apparition. Some were apprehensive because she was Hylain, some said she seemed quite distant, some complimented her, either for the way she used her words and carried herself or for her looks. It appeared that most of them forgot to whom she was married, but if part of them had a different opinion or hesitated to dislike her at first sight, then the prince guessed that was a good thing.

They did not speak badly of his sister and their parents for they loved them so, but the youngest of the Royal Family was on a different page than the rest of his family, and for being put under a different label he guessed they would judge Zelda based on that. Again, not only she was a Hylian, she was married to him, but she still had a chance to change that, he told himself, and it would be best if she treated Robyn just the way she treated her husband before she got attached to the kid. It would only make things worse if she grew to like him too much.

At what point he started to worry for what the people had to say about her he did not know, but it was happening, he found himself thinking of it too frequently to be healthy. That was not part of his plan. It should not be of his concern, really, but he had long ago accepted things the way they were and someone in this relationship had to be approved by the people; if he could not do it, then she could. It was hard not to care about what they thought and have to please them at the same time, he was not fit to be a king, but it was all to prove his value as a person, he repeated once more, just to see if his mind would absorb the words for once.

She was perfect for the job; someone else would only be better than her if they had the same traits and were Twili. Zelda was elegant and poised, she appeared to be wise, though he could not prove that simply for the fact that he never sat down to have a real conversation with her, but her eyes seemed to hold thousands of years worthy of knowledge, and she exhaled wisdom and breathed compassion. All in all, she was the perfect ruler, now if only the Twili were more accepting of Hylians and the people of Hyrule...

Link had to admit her looks were not as strange as they used to be. She was rather... Pleasant to look at now that he was used to them. He could safely say she was beautiful in her own way, in Hyrule's way, and some of the people said her beauty was unique. Well, it was indeed. She was the only Hyrulean present in their realm; there, in Twilight Realm, she was unique, with her quietness and silent intelligence.

Did the people hate her? It was no secret that the Twili had a dislike for the general populace of Hyrule and vice versa, but did they hate her? Did they hate her, Zelda Harkinian Nohansen, crown princess of the Hyrulean throne, the one who gave up her life to marry and live with the enemy until the moment came for her to move back to her castle? Zelda, who accepted to marry Link even though she did not know him, even though his own people did not like him, even though he would never truly fit with most of the Twili like she never would? Princess Zelda, who befriended Robyn even though he was put under the same label as Link? His wife, who was bound to him by a golden band around her left ring finger and had taken his last name?

Zelda Harkinian Nohansen Tenebra.

Tenebra...

With a sigh, the prince covered his eyes with a hand, feeling a headache coming. He would have to talk to Robyn; surely, he would understand the importance of it.

Life would be so much easier if he were a simple commoner working in a ranch.

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><p>Zelda flipped the page of the Twili geography book, growing a little more restless and tired with every failed attempt she did. Time was running out, soon she would need to talk to the Goddesses, but she could not go back to Hyrule to pay Lake Hylia a visit. The only thing left for her to do was try to find its counterpart in the Twilight Realm; with luck, her words would reach the ears in the sky above and they would grant her a wish, just like they did every year. She would not ask for anything else, never would she wish for something else instead. That was the only thing she asked of them other than guidance and words of wisdom at times. That was the only thing she would give her title and life for, to have this wish granted for just another twelve months.<p>

Her search was fruitless most of the time, but she would not give up. She was persistent. Zelda would give up on anything else, but not on this. And not on riding Shadow Kargaroks either, they were important to her, especially now that she needed to get to this lake, if it even existed, by herself. Why else would she ask to be taught how to ride those weird looking creatures? She would rather read the palace archive of books four times over than fly a bird for more than five minutes, but they were the most important piece of this game, placing high only after the location of the lake.

Her classes, by the way, were not as bad as she expected them to be. The bird behaved nicely, it did not approach her unless she lifted a hand, but riding it was the worst part. She never thought she was terrified of high heights until the moment the creature flapped its wings and prepared to take flight. It had taken her a lot of self-control not to yelp and tell Zant to stop the thing and put her down, and the man was not oblivious to the fact that she broke into cold sweat and held the reins way too tightly in her hands. They started slowly, though. At first, he would guide the bird around while she was sitting on its back, just getting used to the feeling of being perched up there. Then they made it fly short distances, from one end of the courtyard to the other was the farthest it would go, and then she was ready for the best part, in Zant's words.

Flying did not sound bad in her head, but imagining it and actually flying were two different things. For instance, the Shadow Kargarok did not fly as smoothly as expected and right in the first try it fell and she followed suit, landing on her side and bruising her hip, but no one needed to know there was a sore purple spot right above her hipbone. Zant then decided to redo the first two steps hoping the bird would adjust to her and not the contrary, and after a couple of days they were ready to try again. This time the fall was worse. Zelda seemed to be getting the hang of it until the bird decided that, no, it would not carry her any longer, and simply turned just enough so she would lose her hold on it and fall to the ground below. She was just lucky Zant was there to cushion her fall, for he tried to hold her like a hero would, but in the end he toppled over with her and somehow landed on her wrist. Flying classes were canceled until the injury healed.

Some bird Link chose, she thought as she gently poked at the ugly bandage wrapped around her wrist. Was he not the one who was an expert in that kind of thing?

Zelda smiled slightly at the pages of the book, fingertip now running over a gravure of a forest. It was not his fault, but she wanted to say that to him just to see how he would react. How would he take her teasing? Somehow, she was under the impression that she should not try to play around with him, though it would probably make their relationship a lot better. Her head told her to go ahead, but her gut told otherwise and she trusted her instincts too much. Just leave it, she told herself, he would come to her when he was ready to take that step.

The princess closed the book and put it aside with her annotations. Her eyelids felt heavy and her eyes burned, her vision was blurred and her body was drained of energy. She spent the nights reading and researching, growing desperate as days went by and she did not get any closer to finding the lake. Asking someone for its location was out of question, too. She doubted anyone knew what Lake Hylia was, despite its name, or its importance to her; not even Ardian, the only member of the Royal Family to have crossed the Mirror of Twilight and landed on the world on the other side, would know where to find its counterpart. Besides, that was something she had to do. She viewed this as a challenge presented by the Golden Goddesses themselves, and if she wanted them to grant her wish once again then she would have to do something to earn it. So far three major lakes caught her attention; it had to be one of them and she would find out soon, even if she only discovered which was the one on the day before her departure. Not to mention that if she asked anyone about the location, they would surely try to accompany her.

She stood from the chair to head for her bedroom ready for a nap, its legs scrapping the floor lightly. Robyn had taken the day off to help his grandfather and so there was no one to talk to her and keep her awake for a moment longer; she saw no other option than retire to bed earlier than usual.

The only thing left for her to do after finding the lake would be plotting a plan to leave unnoticed and alone. She had to go alone, she always did, even back in Hyrule not one guard accompanied her when she went to Lake Hylia at this time of the year and it would be no different here. Link was a deep sleeper so slipping out of the room unnoticed would be easy, but crossing the castle and courtyard and taking the bird out of its pen would be hard. Already her mind worked to find a solution, and she went through a list of things she could do and excuses she could use to get away with it. Zelda felt bad about lying, but they would not permit that she leave, that much she knew based on their reactions when she ingested milk and was forced to stay bedridden.

But they could not keep her locked up in the palace, whether if they were worried for her wellbeing or something else entirely, Zelda had a life to live and they were not going to interfere. She never had to ask her father for permission to leave and while she knew things worked differently here, she was still the one in control of her life. She would go and face them later, think about their reactions later, apologize if needed when she returned, but she would not let their overprotection, or whatever it could be called, get in the way of her prayers to the Golden Goddesses and she would not promise to never leave again. She would not even consider it.

Her injured wrist was suddenly aching, though the pain was dull and did not bother her much. Still, when she reached her chambers, Zelda unwound the bandages from around her wrist and walked into the adjoining bathroom, leaving fabric strip on the dark granite countertop before filling the sink with water. Twilight Realm was different in many ways from Hyrule. Doors without doorknobs and glowing patterns on the walls aside, they seemed to have indoor plumbing, which she enjoyed greatly. She could fill the bathtub at whatever time she pleased without the need to call for a servant to help and could adjust the temperature of the water until it fit her tastes. The water at room temperature here was far colder than in Hyrule, and later she was informed that the water they had dipped her hand in months ago in her wedding did not have any traces of ice; it was pure, unaltered room temperature water, yet it felt like they had covered her hand in a pile of snow.

Zelda turned the faucet until water stopped running and dipped her hand in the sink, holding her breath at the contact of her warm skin to the cold liquid. Goosebumps traveled up her arm and a shiver rolled down her spine, but she curled her fingers and tried to keep her form from shaking. It would help a lot with the pain, though later her knuckles would hurt too much for her to flex them again.

It would be hard to adjust going back to Hyrule and living without the things she already grew used to. She could not remember when was the last time she pushed a door open, but she could remember clearly the feel of her fingers enclosing around the doorknob and pulling it down, then moving the door forward in an arch until she could see the inside of her bedroom. The bed on the far wall across from the window, made with untouched and unwrinkled bed sheets, pillows lining up the bedpost, roses on the bedside table, a small workspace to her left, a fireplace just across the door, the windows that led to the balcony, which overlooked her favorite part of the courtyard. Zelda could almost smell the roses and the familiar scent of her bed sheets, and feel the heat of the fire burning the logs as she moved to claim her sit on the cushioned armchair before the fireplace.

The door opened then, but instead of hearing the usual click of the doorknob the sound that she heard was muffled tune that hang in the air followed by stone sliding on stone. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at her reflection in the mirror, not having realized that her eyelids slipped shut while she was daydreaming of her chambers back in Hyrule Castle. Risking a glance through the open door, she spotted Link's figure moving about their room and her lips instantly pressed together firmly to keep quiet. Since they went to the market, things had been weird, she could not explain it exactly. The incident with Zant had left Zelda apprehensive to approach him again, but he was nothing but his usual self after that, reverting to the collected image she was used to – but then, when she fell from the Kargarok and not so gently landed on him, did that image crack and she saw how he truly was. Yet another thing she could not put into words, but the princess never thought she would see a grown man say _ow ouchies_ after being hit. She tried not to laugh and succeeded, but he saw the fleeting amused smile on her features and returned it in kind – whether he smiled because he was embarrassed or because he was glad she showed some sort of happiness she could not say, they were all very determined to get her to smile more often.

However, with Link things were different and she could not tell if they changed from bad to worse. They already did not speak much before, but ever since their visit to the market he seemed to be more distant, if possible. Whereas before she crossed paths with him in the hallways occasionally during the day, now she only saw him for their meals and when they were ready to retire for the night, he avoided her more than ever. Sometimes she managed to catch his eyes and he stared at her with such intensity that she had to focus on not squirming in her seat, his heavy gaze making her insides stir in an alien way and her breath catch in her throat, and Zelda had to subtly look away or else she would choke on her drink. Even though he did not speak directly to her very often, her husband frequently asked the cooks if they made sure that her meals had no trace of lactose in it as well as cashew nuts – an information she did not know he knew and a food she thought she would not find here – and he did not care if everyone glanced his way as if he had suddenly grown five feet taller and sprouted wings; he would not accept it that she got sick again under his watch, he had said, using the exact same words.

She knew there was more to it than concern. At some point Link had made it clear that all aspects of her life were not of his business, even if he had not voiced it. Zelda just knew he did not care and she told herself to not fret over it, it was inevitable, but the fact that he questioned the cooks before the entire family and knew facts of her life that she did not mention to him made her just a tad bit... Breathless. It made her wonder if he was starting to care for her, and though there was a slim chance that he was indeed having a change of heart, her mind clung desperately to the idea, eager to make their days together easier for the both of them.

Link stopped before the doorway and turned, accidentally meeting her gaze, and she did not look away until he started moving forward towards her, only then did the princess lower her eyes to the water and unclenched her fingers, feeling her knuckles screaming in pain. Zelda made a face and swallowed whilst withdrawing her hand from the water, droplets dripping back into the sink and forming circles. "Does it hurt?" He inquired, standing only a few feet away from her.

Zelda shook her head. "Not anymore." Not her wrist anyway; her fingers were another story entirely. She dried her arm with a soft cotton towel, dabbing it gently on her skin as to not injure it further. He watched her hand move, eyes glazed and almost transfixed before he blinked them and moved his stare back to her face. "Do you need anything?"

He tilted his back just slightly, pressing his lips together momentarily. "I did not find you in the library," he said simply with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, fingers absently playing with the bandage lying on the countertop.

She eyed his hand in silence and he seemed to realize what he was doing, instantly lifting the bandage and offering to tie it around her wrist. She complied, extending her own hand for him. "My researches were fruitless, so I decided to retire earlier."

"What were you researching?" Asked Link, eyebrows pinched together as he tied the material about her wrist as gently as he could, careful not to tie it too tightly.

His wife's eyebrows rose, having found the perfect opportunity. "I want to know more of the Twilight Realm." Zelda held her breath when his fingers brushed her skin, his fingers more callused and stronger than hers, and warm, so warm. After a pause, she added, "Could you get me new history and geography books to read?"

Link tied the knot then lifted his head and gaze to her face, pondering her request. It seemed harmless enough and it was something that was in his reach, he could easily do that. With a nod he said, "I will get them delivered to you by tomorrow morning." And then she smiled to show her appreciation, and he dumbly stared at her face with a blank look that hardly masked how awkward, if not flustered, he felt for being the one to whom her smile was directed to. Distantly, he wondered if Robyn still felt like that often or if by now he had grown used to it.

Then, as if noticing he was still holding her hand, the prince released it and excused himself, leaving the chambers just as calmly as he had entered, and leaving Zelda behind analyzing his handiwork, heart fluttering in her ribcage.

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><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- I thought it would be cool to give Link a last name?

- Tenebra (or Tenebrae, they're almost the same thing): Latin; darkness, obscurity, night, dark corner, ignorance, concealment

- If Link's thoughts confuse you, just know that his plan backfired


	10. ix: Eclipse Magnitude

It's-a me, I am back and whole!

The trip was good for me, because I'm an architecture student and I got to meet some historical cities and see their architecture live, but I there were SO MANY ladders. There was one in which we needed to stop because I couldn't breathe, walk and eat at the same time lmao (I was having ice cream, yeah)

And you know that here Zelda is allergic to milk and all, so imagine how I'm feeling now that my stomach is sensitive for some reason and I get sick whenever I eat cheese. It's all thanks to the sundried tomatoes I had last week, which I love btw, especially in pizzas, but why did I eat pizza again this weekend jfc I regret that, I regret that so much

Anyway, here's the new chap! And know that I wrote a new thing for Tales of Twilight. And I had another idea this afternoon. Three stories to be planned and written, I can't keep up

Enjoy!

**You're so talented, you play that violin and rock it**

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><p><strong>Eclipse Magnitude<strong>

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><p><em>Eclipse magnitude is the fraction of the Sun's diameter occulted by the Moon. It is strictly a ratio of diameters and should not be confused with eclipse obscuration, which is a measure of the Sun's surface area occulted by the Moon. Eclipse magnitude may be expressed as either a percentage or a decimal fraction (e.g., 50% or 0.50). By convention, its value is given at the instant of greatest eclipse.<em>

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><p>Zelda had her arms wrapped around her form as she walked through the darkened halls of the palace, a long satin robe covering her body, and bedroom slippers clad feet padded quietly in the dead of the night as she tried to recall which way would lead her to the kitchen. Link was sleeping soundly back in their room, coming close to snoring at any time soon, and she was glad he was tired enough that he was almost making noises. If he snored, it meant he was so tired that he would not wake up so easily, thus it meant she could make as much noise as she wanted when packing her things.<p>

She turned right and sighed out in relief when she saw no one standing in the corridor. Zelda had managed to hide her pair of riding boots inside the mailbag she found lying about in the closet and would rather change her shoes outside of the palace, but if she wanted to bring some snacks and water with her, she would have to do it by the time she arrived in the kitchen. Her robe would have to be removed as well before she left for the outside, but if she was not mistaken, there was a door leading directly to the courtyard, a quick escape in case someone happened to pass by, but they would not, it was far too early according to her pocket watch.

It had been so easy. Link all but collapsed onto the bed, the mattress shifting as he clawed his hands at the comforters and pulled it over his body all the while mumbling incoherently, few of which his words she somehow made out. Her eyes did not stray away from the pages of her book and her lips quirked up almost too happily as she answered that yes, she would be awake for a while longer, and when he groaned again she replied with "goodnight, Prince Link," and waited for at least five minutes before the first traces of snores left his mouth. Content with his unconsciousness, the princess calmly got up from the bed and went to prepare a shower, closing the door quietly behind her back and slipping inside the bathtub, eager to leave. Still she took her time to bathe, feeling rejuvenated after an entire day of lounging in bed and sleeping through most of it, a feat she somehow managed to pull. Zelda dismissed Robyn that day and lent him her encyclopedia so he could study Hyrule's history further without her, and she had no doubts that he would do exceptionally well without her being there to help him.

Her notes were hidden among the pages of the book she was reading by the time her husband got to their chambers, but hiding them there was not needed seeing as Link was so fatigued he barely spared her a glance, not that he would. She let it not get to her, but she could not deny that she was not completely pleased with his reaction, or lack of thereof, at the sight of a book in her hands. Sometimes he was out of his mind just enough to ask what she was reading, though it rarely happened, then he would remember he was not supposed to be talking to her and would grow silent and only speak again to wish her a good night's sleep.

The kitchen was deserted, just as she had hoped. Light filtered through the windows and painted squares of orange light on the dark floor, and for some reason it made her think of her home, of the lively kitchen with polite cooks and baskets of fresh vegetables brought from the market streets of Castle Town, and at times the cooks would be careless enough to let a cucco slip inside while the princess was present in the same room. She thought of the burning logs under big pots of food, coal ovens that baked her favorite goods, fine tea sets placed on silver trays with freshly baked pastries with fresh cut up fruits on the side. She thought of the taste of Hyrulean coffee and how she missed it, how the green tea from Twilight Realm tasted odd in her tongue and burned her throat, then she thought of the scenery and how it differed greatly. Here the leaves were of a darker green shade that resembled black, the same could be said about the trunks that were, usually, thin and elongated and twisted at odd angles. Everything was darker than usual and that was something she could not seem to adjust.

After only some weeks in this Realm, Zelda had already grown used to the luxuries it provided, such as the indoor plumbing and the doors that opened by themselves, going back to Hyrule would leave her a bit lost when the time came for her to bathe, but she would always readjust, it was not so hard. Link, however, would feel it the most, having lived with these things for all of his life. He already did not like the idea of having to leave Twilight and move to the other side of the mirror; he would only hate the experience even more.

Oddly, Zelda felt distress tugging at her heartstrings, but quickly pushed it aside as she stepped further into the kitchen and proceeded to change. Sitting on a stool, she removed her shoes and put on her boots, then shrugged off her robe and neatly folded it before placing it into the mailbag along with her fluffy slippers. Now standing on her feet again, she went about to collect some snacks, just a few apples and oranges, maybe a loaf of bread, and she did not forget to fill two canteens with water, she would need that. Satisfied with what she got, the princess arranged the items inside her bag and closed its clap in a hurry, rushing out the kitchen through the backdoor that thankfully existed, afraid someone would come even if it was still too early to rise.

She pulled the hood of her riding gown over her head and ran through the courtyard towards the stables, finding some resistance to open the heavy doors, but she gave her all and forced it open with a grunt, the hinges squeaking almost too loudly in the silent atmosphere. Epona and most of the birds awoke with the sound, and so did hers, head snapping up from its comfortable place under its wings to glance at the woman catching her breath on the doorway. Touching her braid for a brief moment to check if it was still tied securely, the princess glared at the bird's head as she made her way to it, steps heavier and tenser than usual and movements sharper as she yanked the door of its pen open and took it by the reins. "Listen here," she said firmly whilst leading it out of the barn, "You will cooperate, and if you do not I will have you fried for dinner, do you hear me?" Perhaps she should feel a bit crazy for talking to the Shadow Kargarok, but it seemed to understand her words, as weird as that sounded, and she huffed in contentment.

Checking the clock quickly before mounting the beast – it read three-fifty in the morning – Zelda inhaled deeply and held her breath as she kicked and urged the bird to run and fly, and soon they crossed over the outer walls of the palace, the farthest they had ever gone.

* * *

><p>In the morning, Link woke up to find the other side of the bed cold and empty and neatly made. While it was not a foreign occurrence, for his wife was more of an early riser than he would ever be, it was still unsettling that there was no sound of running water coming from their adjoining bathroom. He sat up slowly, one hand on his face as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and blinked them several times to fully wake up, lips twisted in a frown at the thought of having to get up and work on more boring paperwork, and often times he wondered how his life would be if he were raised as a simple ranch boy, living in a secluded little village away from the busy capital.<p>

The prince sluggishly pushed himself out of bed and dragged his feet towards the windows, yanking the thick, dark curtains open to let the orange light of perpetual twilight illuminate his room and cast long shadows on the floor. As he looked at his chambers now, her half of the bed made and her presence absent from the room, he almost felt like he was single again, but the golden band around his finger weighed way too much to let him forget he was married to a princess of another realm, and his fingertip brushed over the cool metal absentmindedly before his hands dropped by his sides and he went inside the bathroom. A bath was much needed and he left the water running as he retrieved a clean change of clothes and stripped himself of his pajamas, leaving them lying by the foot of the bathtub. Link stepped inside and lowered himself to lean against the edge, arms hanging over the brim and hot water slowly but surely rising up to cover all of his body. As he drummed his fingers on the fine, polished material of the bathtub, his half lidded eyes stared blankly at the wall for he had nothing better to look at. A sigh escaped his lips and he closed the faucet, waterdrops dripping from its end and falling by his feet, and he watched transfixed as circles formed like they had on the previous day when Zelda had her hand submerged in the sink not too far from him.

Frowning at his own behavior, Link huffed and started to wash himself, now eager to start the day.

Minutes later, he was clean and changed, walking to the dining hall with his hair still damp from his bath and fists lightly clenched by his sides. He was in a sour mood and had little patience left in stock to do his chores of the day, but it was not like he could dump all of it on Midna's back so he could run away to the forest and be truly alone to think and relax. The servants seemed to notice the vibes that came from his moving form and they fled his way by entering the closest room they came across or pressing their backs to the walls whilst holding their breaths, silently watching as the prince went on his way through the castle. It was not unusual, but when the prince was angry, he was angry and no one better not stand in his path lest he decides to blow up the moment he sees their face. Though the rare times when Zant let his bad aura known, Link's was far worse, he had a temper that was hard to control and often felt the urge to break things to calm down. There was a reason why the Royal Family kept a room full of cheap clay vases and pots: so the young prince could break them and not someone's arm.

At the moment, he was considering taking a detour for that room, but his need to check on his wife to guarantee that things kept running smoothly outweighed his need to smash something to pieces. Link's nerves flared up slightly when he entered the dining hall and did not spot her there, and his family grew quiet as he stood rooted to the spot by the threshold for a long moment before stiffly making his way to his seat, fringe slightly obscuring his face. "Where is Zelda?"

Both his mother and father shared a glance, and it was Midna who spoke before any of them could even part their lips. "She woke up earlier than us all." Unbeknown to her, the first half of her lie was correct. "By the time we arrived she had already left. She's off somewhere with Robyn." Link regarded his sister in silence, then nodded seemingly pleased with her answer and turned his attention to the food.

The rest of the family was just as good liars as Midna was and they knew exactly what to do so Link would not doubt her words. They fell back into an amicable conversation, working to maintain relaxed posture and voices, and avoiding looking his way too much as to not rise suspiciousness. While they, but his mother especially, were happy that Link was showing he cared for his wife, they could not brush aside the feeling that there was something very wrong with it. It was sudden and literally happened overnight, as if something happened during his sleep and marked him so deeply that it led him to act differently around her. Ardian joked halfheartedly when alone with his wife and daughter that Link had seen an event involving Zelda in his dreams and while his son had never had any prophetic dreams before, it was known that his daughter-in-law was extremely sensitive to spiritual occurrences – maybe her presence around him could trigger something in him.

Now it seemed, however, that the source of his foul mood was the absence of his wife. Clearly, she was not in the room when he woke up and none of them happened to see her before meeting in the dining hall, simply believing that the Hyrulean princess was in her chambers with her husband. They would keep the act going until they found where she was hiding; in his current state, Link really did not need to know that no one had a clue about her whereabouts.

Elliét sipped her tea gingerly, eyes holding Midna's gaze. "The festival is just some weeks away." The delicate teacup touched the saucer with a light _clink_ when she lowered it away from her lips. "I am so excited!"

Midna smiled at her mother. "We should try our outfits today. What do you think, Link?" She inquired with a slight quirk of her eyebrow, trying to drag her brother into the conversation in hopes to take his mind out of his wife. She felt weird doing that, all this time they were trying to make him think of her and now...

"Not in the mood," he grumbled darkly from behind his cup of black coffee. His elbow and forearm were propped on the table, his shoulders slumped and there was a dark glare on his face; he was the perfect picture of someone ready to explode any moment.

His sister was not to be deterred so easily. "Then what do you say that we go through the desserts on the menu this evening?"

Link's eyes, which had been zeroed on the basket of fruits, Zelda's favored foods in the mornings, shot in her direction and he pondered over her words. Midna was smiling invitingly, knowing that the only way to get him to relax a bit was to include sweets on their schedule, and since Link's favorite dessert was part of the menu it would be easier to persuade him. Link did not look intimidating in the least, but his short-tempered nature could make up for his lack height and glowing red eyes. Thankfully, this unique man had a unique weakness: his sweet tooth. As childish as it sounded, one could calm him down before he reached his breaking point if they offered him something sweet that he liked. Not many people, such as the servants, knew of this trick, though; it was something Midna found out by accident when they were youths.

Returning his gaze to the fruits, Link nodded curtly and sipped his drink, not seeing when Zant's shoulders dropped in relief even though the man was sitting across from him.

* * *

><p>Zelda rummaged through her mailbag, but the silver pocket watch was nowhere in sight. She huffed angrily, going after her annotations and the compass she found in the library instead, glad that at least she could see if she was going in the right direction or not. The arrow pointed north and she studied her hand drawn map intently, the reins of her ride secured firmly around her right wrist. The left one still hurt at times, but she would not let a little pain stop her from talking to the goddesses.<p>

The geography books Link brought her when asked were better than the ones she found in the library. They had more information, more maps and details, and coupled with the ones she had already seen and her own geography books from Hyrule she managed to find what she called to be Lake Hylia's counterpart. It was located southeast of Twilight Palace and according to her calculations only a few hours away. Zelda believed that Shadow Kargaroks moved faster than horses; in her head, she would cover the distance in much less than five hours, but now there was no way to know if she really would for it seemed her pocket watch fell from her mailbag at some point. She would have to get Midna a new one, no problem, but now she was relying purely on instinct to find out how much time her little escapade would take. Hopefully, they would not worry if they did not see her for a few hours; she did, after all, leave during the night, and they would be awake only for the minority of her time away.

Her bird chose to sit beside her under the shade of a tree when they stopped to rest for a few minutes. Zelda was impressed at the layout of Twilight Realm, it was much different than Hyrule. She did not notice much when she left the palace weeks ago, but when she was flying over the city, she saw just how unique the place was. Sure, Hyrule had endless cliffs too, if one were brave enough to wander too close to the borders of Hyrule Field, especially the western portion located north of Kakariko Village and Death Mountain, they would see just how deep it was, but Twilight Realm was composed mainly of cliffs than plains and mountains. From above, they seemed like islands, but instead of being surrounded by a body of water there was nothing but a bottomless pit to greet you, and now she understood why they used birds and not horses, not that she had seen any of the latter around. Zelda had a feeling that the Twili had no clue of what a horse was in the first place.

The state of eternal twilight that shrouded the land did not help much, either. Even in broad day light, glimpsing at the bottom of the cliffs of Hyrule would grant you with the view of darkening stones until they, at some point down below, blackened out. In Twilight, due to the lack of a midday sun, or the lack of a sun itself, caused the cliffs to grow dark much closer to the edge than in Hyrule, which betrayed just how far one could fall. You could jump and find out that there was solid ground some feet below, or you could jump and find that the hole stretched deeper than the ones back at home, not that she knew how far those ones went.

The princess could not help but imagine what would happen to her if the bird decided to try to drop her once again. With a shudder, she put her things away and urged the Shadow Kargaork to stand. They were not very far.

She admired the scenery whilst flying through the air. The twilight was beautiful, and the weirdness of the dark trees seemed to compliment it nicely, even though the plants were odd looking. Some clouds resembled fog in her eyes, and she wondered in the back of her mind if it rained here, too. So far, not one drop of water fell from the sky since the princess arrived. She wanted to know if the Twilight Realm and Hyrule had things in similar, having already found out that her temporary home was far more developed than the kingdom she grew up in, but those were things she could try to adapt and install all throughout the territory, although it would take a few years.

Finally, she spotted it, the lake. Lake Hylia's Twili counterpart lay in the center of a plain, surrounded by round rocks and medium sized bushes with few trees scattered about, and high boulders on its far side that resembled the stones that separated the Lanayru Province from Gerudo Desert. They landed and the princess dismounted the Shadow Kargarok, leading it through the open space and closer to the rock wall, inspecting it until she spotted an alcove, an opening on its rough and jagged surface. After tying the bird to a tree close by the lake so it could drink and leaving some apples behind for it to snack on, she glimpsed inside the cave before entering, finding that the inner walls glowed almost eerily, a soft blue light that made her think of the patterns drawn everywhere in the Twilight Palace. Further into the small cave she went and not too far from the entrance she found a shallow pool of water, which, oddly, seemed to be the source of the glow that illuminated the area. That was the perfect spot, Zelda decided, as she brought herself to her knees and her right thumb drew the outlines of a triangle on her bosom starting from the bottom left: Wisdom.

* * *

><p><strong>Post chapter notes:<strong>

- I imagine Twilight Realm being like Skyloft: all islands and pits. That's one of the reasons why I use Shadow Kargaroks as means of transportation haha

- still laughing at Zelda for threatening the bird, just so you know lmao


End file.
